Oregon, 2022

Tornado in Oregon, June 11, 2022

June 11, 2022 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An atmospheric river pointed at the Pacific Northwest provided plentiful moisture east of the Cascades for scattered to isolated showers to develop across the region. Though instability in the area was weak, an isolated shower about 6 miles southwest of KPDT was able to produce a well defined funnel cloud that preceded a weak small tornado.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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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 PDT wrote it up.

An atmospheric river pointed at the Pacific Northwest provided plentiful moisture east of the Cascades for scattered to isolated showers to develop across the region. Though instability in the area was weak, an isolated shower about 6 miles southwest of KPDT was able to produce a well defined funnel cloud that preceded a weak small tornado.

What forecasters said that day

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 11, 9:20 AM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 11, 9:20 AM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
1020 AM PDT Sat Jun 11 2022

Updated Aviation Discussion

.MORNING UPDATE...An upper low in the northeast Pacific continues
to guide an Atmospheric River (AR) into the PacNW this morning.
This has resulted in a band of light to moderate rain showers from
the central OR Cascades to far northeast OR. This has resulted in
rain accumulations anywhere from 0.3 to 0.75 inches across the
lower elevations while areas in the foothills and in the eastern
mountains have seen 0.5 to 1.5 inches in the last 24 hours. This
band of showers is expected to persist through this afternoon,
with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm or two developing
within this band. Later this evening, this band will begin to
dissipate as the AR weakens, with only light showers persisting
over the eastern mountains overnight. To the northwest of this
shower band, mostly dry conditions have developed as the AR has
moved south of this area, and this expected to persist through
tonight. Flooding concerns in the WA Cascades have decreased with
rain ending in this area, however concerns across the eastern
mountains continue as greater rain accumulations are still
expected in the next 24 to 48 hours. Lawhorn/82

&&

.AVIATION...18Z TAFs...A band of showers will affect
KBDN...KRDM...KPDT...and KALW this afternoon before dissipating by
early this evening. Some MVFR conditions can be expected within the
precipitation area. Elsewhere VFR conditions are expected. Early
Sunday Morning the next storm system will bring moderate rain to
KRDM and KBDN with MVFR/IFR conditions. Winds will increase to 10-15
kt with gusts to 20 kt this afternoon and early evening and diminish
to mostly less than 10 kt overnight. 78

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  73  53  68  45 /  90  40  80  60
ALW  73  55  71  47 /  90  30  80  70
PSC  77  56  75  52 /  70  10  60  50
YKM  75  50  71  45 /  30  10  50  30
HRI  76  55  72  49 /  80  20  70  40
ELN  68  47  68  46 /  20  10  40  40
RDM  73  49  60  37 /  90  40  90  40
LGD  65  50  65  41 / 100  50  90  70
GCD  70  50  65  39 /  80  50 100  70
DLS  74  55  68  51 /  80  20  70  40

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Flood Watch through late Sunday night for ORZ049-050-502-503-507-
     508.

WA...Flood Watch through late Sunday night for WAZ029-030.

     Flood Watch through Sunday afternoon for WAZ027-520.

&&

MORNING UPDATE...82
AVIATION...78

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 11, 8:19 AM PST, 2 hours 41 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
919 AM PDT SAT JUN 11 2022

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0912 AM     HEAVY RAIN       8 SE PILOT ROCK         45.40N 118.73W
06/11/2022  M1.35 INCH       UMATILLA           OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

AA
Local storm report, Jun 11, 8:46 AM PST, 2 hours 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
946 AM PDT SAT JUN 11 2022

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0940 AM     HEAVY RAIN       5 NNE LA GRANDE         45.39N 118.07W
06/11/2022  M0.90 INCH       UNION              OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

AA

The radar

The Pendleton radar (KPDT), 10 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:01 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Umatilla

When
June 11, 11:00 AM PST to 11:30 AM PST
Where
Umatilla County, 4.17 mi S of Barnhart to 4.18 mi S of Barnhart
Rating
EFU
Path length
0.02 mi
Path width
15 yd
Reported by
Airplane Pilot
Coordinates
45.610, -118.910

The Pendleton Airport air traffic controller relayed a report from a pilot travelling south of the airfield that debris and dust was being picked up by a small tornado. A funnel cloud was observed by NWS personnel and by the public shortly before the relayed report.

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Oregon, 2022Warnings in Oregon, June 2022

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: 1043094.