Funnel Cloud, Clearwater
- When
- May 31, 1:38 PM PST
- Where
- Clearwater County, Orofino
- Coordinates
- 46.674, -115.657 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Funnel Cloud in Idaho, May 31, 1997
Two brief funnel clouds were reported at Orofino.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.
Two brief funnel clouds were reported at Orofino.
The radar
The Missoula radar (KMSX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:37 UTC.
Event by event
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Funnel Cloud
- A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Washington, May 31, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in Idaho, May 31, 1997
- Tornado in Washington, May 31, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Idaho, May 31, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Washington, May 31, 1997
- Tornado and Hail in Idaho, May 31, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, May 31, 1997
- Cold in New Jersey, May 31, 1997
- Cold in Pennsylvania, May 31, 1997
- Tornado in Oregon, May 31, 1997
- Flooding in Indiana, May 31, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Florida, May 31, 1997
More
Every storm in Idaho in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, May 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5600156.