With a low to the north and another low to the south, there were several showers across northwest Oregon. There was enough shear for one stronger shower to spin up a brief funnel cloud.
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The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.
With a low to the north and another low to the south, there were several showers across northwest Oregon. There was enough shear for one stronger shower to spin up a brief funnel cloud.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 2, 8:17 AM PST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Portland OR 917 AM PDT Tue Oct 2 2018 Updated the aviation section. .SYNOPSIS...Moist onshore flow will continue isolated to scattered showers through this evening, mainly for the higher terrain. Dry, but still cool weather is expected for Wednesday and Thursday. A frontal system will produce widespread rain Friday with cool and showery weather for Saturday. && .SHORT TERM...Today through Friday...An upper trough over has split into two main low energies; a large closed low offshore of central California, and a weaker low over the British Columbia coast. Isolated and scattered showers will continue today for NW Oregon and SW Washington with the region being between these two lows. There will be more breaks than showers this morning as the lows shift southward. The showers will increase in the afternoon over the higher terrain as onshore flow increases and supports orographic showers. The showers will end tonight as the northern low moves inland, and the southern low moves far south. Calm winds, clearing skies, and lingering surface moisture will lead to coastal and valley fog late tonight into Wednesday morning. Fog will clear early in the afternoon but an approaching upper level trough will maintain some clouds over the area and limit warming. The afternoon temperatures will peak in the low to mid 60s in most areas. The upper trough moves over the area Wednesday night and Thursday for increasing clouds and cooler than normal temperatures. A weak shortwave may generate light showers briefly Thursday afternoon. A warm front will bring rain to the area on Friday. The rain will likely reach the coast late Thursday night, then move inland and impact most areas early in the afternoon. A cold front will then move through Friday night. Models are forecasting 1-1.2 inch precipitable water as the frontal system moves over the area. This is quite a bit above the 0.72 inch daily normal and indicates that there will be enough moisture available to support a decent rain event. The quick moving nature of the front will limit rain totals, but 0.6 to 1 inch of rain is possible from early Friday morning through Friday night. We have not had rainfall totals like this since last February. ~TJ .LONG TERM...Friday night through Monday...Rain showers will decrease Saturday afternoon as the cold front moves further inland. The Pacific NW will be between a large upper ridge over the NE Pacific and a large upper low east of the Rockies Sunday and Monday. A weak disturbance moving around the low may move north to south over the Pacific NW on Sunday or Monday for a chance of rain. ~TJ && .AVIATION...A weak frontal boundary pushing onshore last night brought some light precipitation and MVFR cigs this morning. There are still some pockets of MVFR cigs across the northern interior lowlands and along the coast, but these should lift to VFR over the next couple of hours. Expect widespread VFR conditions this afternoon and most of this evening with clouds gradually scattering out from NW to SE. With clearing skies and light winds tonight, expect fairly extensive IFR fog and low stratus to form across the region. This should persist through mid to late morning Wed. Some light easterly winds are likely to develop through the gorge and along the central Oregon coast overnight. This may help to limit fog and KONP and possibly KTTD. KPDX AND APPROACHES...MVFR cigs should lift to VFR by 18Z-19Z, with VFR conditions then expected through the rest of the day. Clearing skies this evening will likely result in IFR fog or low stratus by late evening or early in the overnight period. IFR conditions likely persist through mid-morning Wed. Pyle && .MARINE...Weak front has mostly moved inland, with northwesterly winds developing over the waters this morning, as weak high pressure builds. Another weak low over BC and northern WA waters will lead to NW winds increasing a bit midday today, bringing gusts up to around 20 kt in the far northwest waters (PZZ270). Winds weaken again late Tuesday and stay fairly benign through Wednesday and Thursday. The next system to watch will arrive on Friday, as a more significant low pressure system moves across the waters, possibly bringing our first round of low-end gales of the season. This system will almost certainly bring southerly winds gusting to at least 25 to 30 kt on Friday ahead of the front. Winds turn northerly behind the system on Saturday and remain potentially gusty, then weaken again on Sunday. Seas remain in the 4 to 6 ft range with little change through Wednesday. Seas start to build up ahead of the low pressure system on Thursday, getting up into the 6 to 7 ft range. With the system on Friday, expect seas to build up into the 10 to 12 ft range going into next weekend, depending on the track of the low and the strength of the winds. -McCoy && .PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...None. WA...None. PZ...None. && Interact with us via social media: www.facebook.com/NWSPortland www.twitter.com/NWSPortland This discussion is for Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington from the Cascade crest to 60 nautical miles offshore. This area is commonly referred to as the CWA or forecast area.
The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 10 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:57 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A viewer sent in a photo to a local news station of a funnel cloud over the Multnomah Channel, observed around 11 AM.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, October 2018
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: 789519.