ROCKAWAY BEACH, Oregon — Five waterspouts formed off Rockaway Beach along the Oregon coast Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service in Portland, followed hours later by a funnel cloud spotted in Salem.
The sightings of the five waterspouts and funnel cloud comes one day after a waterspout formed in Camas, Washington and a tornado touched down in Linn County in Oregon.
The NWS said strong showers and thunderstorms are expected across Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington on Monday afternoon, with "heavy rain, small hail, gusty winds, lightning, & even funnel clouds are possible with stronger showers."
Funnel cloud in Salem
The NWS tweeted a photo of a funnel cloud that formed south of Salem around 3 p.m. Monday. Chris Lindsay sent the photo of the cloud to the weather service.
Funnel clouds can be a precursor to a tornado. A funnel cloud becomes a tornado once it touches the ground or "if a debris cloud or dust whirl is visible beneath it," according the NWS.
"Remember to take shelter indoors if a storm forms near you," the NWS said.
Water spouts on the Oregon coast
Just before 11 a.m., the NWS confirmed on Twitter that the spouts appeared above the Pacific Ocean.
Gianni Pulone sent KGW a photo of two waterspouts he saw just before 10:30 a.m. along Rockaway Beach. Pulone said he spotted a total of four waterspouts at one point, and they were up for about 10 minutes.
"It's pretty interesting. I mean, nothing that I've ever seen before, for sure," he said. "I didn't expect to ever experience it."
Pulone is from Beaverton and was visiting the coast with his family.
"The last couple of days have been pretty normal for the coast, just kind of cloudy with showers, and then this morning we got to witness that."
Pulone said that there weren't many people on the beach to witness the spouts, but there was a fishing boat in the ocean at the time.
"We saw a boat, a fishing boat, out on the water going as fast as they could away from it," he said.
John Chestnut was one of several people who told KGW they spotted the waterspouts from Cannon Beach, about 26 miles north of Rockaway Beach.
Tornado touches down north of Eugene
A slow Sunday afternoon outside of Olsen Run Winery in Harrisburg quickly turned into excitement for Austin Kirk and Cassidy Sedore as they witnessed a tornado touch down.
"You could see dust and I was like, 'Guys are you seeing this?'" Sedore recalled.
The two of them were working at the winery when they spotted the tornado around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
"It was a shock because I never have seen anything like that around here," Kirk said. "We get wind that goes through the fields after you cut them, little whirlwinds that are 10 feet tall. But this was a lot bigger."
The NWS confirmed that this was an EF-0 tornado with wind speeds around 65 mph, which is considered a weak tornado.
KGW Meteorologist Rod Hill said that the Pacific Northwest has been seeing an increase in these weaker tornadoes over the last several years — now averaging about one per year in our region.
In 2020, a tornado touched down near the town of St. Helens, damaging some property. Another one formed the following year in the community of Ilwaco, on the Washington side of the Columbia River mouth, again causing minor damage. There was a weak tornado near Battle Ground that year as well. And a tornado briefly touched down near Woodburn in October 2022.
Waterspout in Camas, Washington
Around 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, a funnel cloud with an observable rotation was spotted in Camas, Washington. The NWS confirmed it was a waterspout.
Said KGW Meteorologist Rod Hill: "What's happening out in the Pacific? Well, that's where the low pressure center is sitting. These spouts forming out in the leading quadrant of this low, that would become the max spot for instability. This is the center — the low — of a cold pool of air which is the major source for why we're getting these explosive, convective heavy showers."
The NWS warned people that waterspouts can be dangerous.
"Waterspouts are similar to tornadoes over water. If you see one while recreating in the water, have an escape plan in mind," the NWS tweeted. "They can form quickly and increase winds and seas. Be sure to wear a life vest as gusty wind can overturn a small boat."
This is a developing story and it will be updated as more information becomes available.