EF2 tornado | |
---|---|
Formed | December 18, 2018, 1:50 p.m. PST (UTC−08:00) Kitsap County, Washington |
Duration | 5 minutes |
Dissipated | December 18, 2018, 1:55 p.m. |
Highest winds |
|
Max. rating1 | EF2 tornado |
Fatalities | 0 fatalities, 0 injuries [2] |
Damage | $1.81 million (2018 USD) [3] |
Areas affected | Kitsap County, Washington |
1Most severe tornado damage; see Enhanced Fujita scale Part of the tornado outbreaks of 2018 |
The 2018 Port Orchard tornado was a rare strong tornado that struck the city of Port Orchard, Washington on December 18, 2018. [4] The National Weather Service office in Seattle rated the tornado EF2 following an on-site survey of the storm damage the day after the event. [5] There were no fatalities or major injuries reported. [1] [2] This was the first tornado to have touched down in Western Washington since an EF0 tornado in 2017 near Monroe. [6] Damage was most pronounced near the South Kitsap Regional Park. [4]
The tornado was the largest recorded in Kitsap County, and the 12th recorded F2/EF2 tornado to touch down in Washington since 1950. Washington state averages 2.5 tornadoes annually, but only 0.1 tornadoes in the month of December; the majority of these are rated EF0. [4] [7]
The tornado was part of an atmospheric river event pointed straight at the Pacific Northwest causing $18 million (2018 USD) of damage between December 10 and December 25. This system caused flooding, severe erosion, and widespread power outages. Washington Governor Jay Inslee sought funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for damages caused during the prolonged stormy period, including for the Port Orchard tornado. [3]
There was not a tornado warning issued for the storm that produced the tornado. [8] The Storm Prediction Center placed the Kitsap Peninsula and nearby Olympic Peninsula under a risk for general thunderstorms for the day, but did not note a chance of severe thunderstorms for the region. [9]
The storm was a product of the Olympic Mountain velocity shear zone, a meteorological phenomenon that occurs when an incoming onshore flow in usually in the wake of a cold front from the Pacific Ocean is forced around the Olympic Mountains and adds the needed low-level wind shear that can enhance rotating storms moving through the area. Velocity scans show that this storm had mesoscale rotation to about 10,000 and rotation could be seen by the Langley Radar on Camano Island Doppler weather radar imagery. [8]
Most of the damage from the tornado occurred near Salmonberry and Bethel Roads to the north of SR 160. There were approximately 250 homes damaged during the storm, including a few that had their roofs partially or completely ripped off. This number was lowered from earlier estimates of around 450 structures. Many large trees were snapped and uprooted, and several homes were also severely damaged when trees fell into them. Some of the most intense damage was inflicted to a dry storage facility, which sustained roof loss and collapse of numerous walls. A strip mall sustained considerable damage as well. [10] [1] About twenty homes were initially evacuated because of fears of a gas leak. [4]
Several roads were closed after the event, both because of debris on the roads and to limit access to damaged neighborhoods. [11] Shelters were also opened to help victims affected by the storm. [12]
Port Orchard is a city in and the county seat of Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located 13 miles (21 km) due west of West Seattle and is connected to Seattle and Vashon Island via the Washington State Ferries run to Southworth. It is named after Port Orchard, the strait that separates Bainbridge Island from the Kitsap Peninsula.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks that occurred in 2007, primarily in the United States. Most tornadoes form in the U.S., although some events may take place internationally, particularly in parts of neighboring southern Canada during the summer season. Some tornadoes also take place in Europe, e. g. in the United Kingdom or in Germany.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2008. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
The tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008 was a series of tornado outbreaks affecting most of central and eastern North America from June 3–11, 2008. 192 tornadoes were confirmed, along with widespread straight–line wind wind damage. Seven people were killed from a direct result of tornadoes; four in Iowa, two in Kansas, and one in Indiana. Eleven additional people were killed across five states by other weather events including lightning, flash flooding, and straight-line winds. Severe flooding was also reported in much of Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa as a result of the same thunderstorms, while high heat and humidity affected much of eastern North America; particularly along the eastern seaboard of the United States from New York City to the Carolinas.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2009. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail. In the U.S., there were 1,304 reports of tornadoes received by the Storm Prediction Center (SPC), and 1,159 tornadoes were confirmed to have taken place. Worldwide, 73 fatalities were caused by tornadoes; 22 in the United States, 20 in India, 11 in Argentina, eight in the Philippines, four each in Canada and Brazil, two in Greece and one each in Serbia and Russia.
The May 2009 derecho series was an unusually strong sequence of derecho events and tornadoes beginning on May 2, 2009 and continuing through May 8, which primarily affected the Southern United States. At least seven people were killed by the storms. An associated tornado outbreak also resulted in nearly 100 tornadoes, some strong, with most strong tornadoes, most damage, and all of the deaths on May 8. In total, nine people were killed, dozens were injured and at least $70 million in damage occurred, $58 million on May 8.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2010. The majority of tornadoes form in the U.S., but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. A lesser number occur outside the U.S., most notably in parts of neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, but are also known in South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
The tornado outbreak of April 22–25, 2010 was a multi-day tornado outbreak across a large portion of the Southern United States, originally starting in the High Plains on April 22, 2010 and continuing through the Southern Plains on April 23, and the Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys on April 24. The most severe activity was on April 24, particularly in Mississippi. The outbreak was responsible for ten tornado-related fatalities on April 24, all in Mississippi from a single supercell that crossed the entire state.
The tornado outbreak of June 5–6, 2010, was a tornado outbreak that affected the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes region, starting the weekend of June 5, 2010, and extending into the morning of June 6, 2010. At least 53 tornadoes were confirmed from Iowa to southern Ontario and Ohio as well as in northern New England. Seven people were confirmed dead in Ohio just outside Toledo, and one in Dwight, Illinois. Damage from the tornadoes in the United States totaled over $266 million.
This page documents the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 2014. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Bangladesh, Brazil, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also appear regularly in neighboring southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer season, and somewhat regularly in Europe, Asia, and Australia.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2017. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2018. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Brazil, Bangladesh and Eastern India, but they can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina and Australia. Tornadic events are often accompanied with other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
The following is a list of weather events that occurred in 2018.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2022. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.
This page documents notable tornadoes and tornado outbreaks worldwide in 2023. Strong and destructive tornadoes form most frequently in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, and Eastern India, but can occur almost anywhere under the right conditions. Tornadoes also develop occasionally in southern Canada during the Northern Hemisphere's summer and somewhat regularly at other times of the year across Europe, Asia, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. Tornadic events are often accompanied by other forms of severe weather, including strong thunderstorms, strong winds, and hail.