Severe Thunderstorms to Hit Pacific Northwest With Quarter-size Hail, Strong Winds, and Tornado Risk

A meteorological anomaly might unfold over the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday, with huge hail, destructive winds, and the threat of tornadoes expected along the Interstate 5 corridor, where severe thunderstorms are almost unheard of.

Warmer temperatures will fuel thunderstorms in the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday afternoon and evening, causing NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) to issue a rare severe weather potential forecast for the region.

The SPC has issued a level 2 out of 5 threat of severe thunderstorms for the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday. This region encompasses Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, Wednesday’s forecast is the first level 2 danger to downtown Seattle since the SPC overhauled its severe weather outlook system over a decade ago.

A greater area of the Northwest, from the Pacific Northwest coast to western Idaho, including Boise, has a lower level 1 threat.

The main worries will be massive hail and severe winds, although a brief tornado outbreak is also conceivable.

The greatest threat on Wednesday will be hail, which might range in size from a quarter to an egg. The majority of the I-5 corridor, including Portland and Salem, Oregon, as well as several southern and eastern Seattle suburbs, has been noted as having the highest risk of hail damage.

“There is a tornado hazard on Interstate 5 from Eugene to Seattle. I know it’s weak, yet it exists. “It raises eyebrows,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen stated.

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Seattle predict that the worst storms will travel northward east of Puget Sound Wednesday afternoon along the I-5 corridor.

About The Author