Confirmed: Waterspout Touches Down on N. Oregon Coast Becomes Tornado in Rockaway Beach

Updated 11/12/24 at 9:15 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Rockaway Beach, Oregon) – UPDATED NUMBERS FROM NWS.

A confirmed tornado touched down in Rockaway Beach Monday night about 9:30 p.m., doing some amount of damage. Fences were knocked over, at least a couple of roofs were torn off, windows shattered and other damage, and one minor injury was reported. (Photo Pam Murray)

Still, it shook up local residents, with some from the Midwest recognizing the sound fairly quickly.

And there's another chance it'll happen again Wednesday on the coast.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed it as a tornado, an EF-0 that caused minimal damage. LATEST FROM NWS: estimated 85 mph; lasted two minutes.

“It started as a water spout then became a tornado,” said Nan Devlin, head of Tillamook Coast Visitors Association. “Lots of damage to buildings, trees down and some power lines. The high school received the brunt of it.”

According to NWS, it started just after 9:20 p.m., and the waterspout / tornado was spotted briefly by radar in Portland.

Photo courtesy Adelaido Bautista

“A trained spotter in Rockaway Beach, Oregon called and reported a tornado near the beach in the town of Rockaway Beach,” the NWS said. “It occurred around 9:24 PM 11/11/24 and lasted a minute or so according to the spotter. At that exact time, KRTX radar imagery depicted a fairly strong velocity couplet over Rockaway Beach. There have been multiple reports of damage to fences, roof shingles, a window and dirt/debris being tossed around.

"The maximum width of the the tornado is estimated at 150 yards and an estimated path length of 0.25 miles based on damage reports."

There is no radar system on this part of the Oregon coast. NWS was only able to glimpse it through “holes” in the Oregon Coast Range – areas penetrated by gaps in the mountain.

Photo courtesy Tillamook County Sheriff's

According to numerous photographs and some video shared online, some of the fencing was actually picked up by the twister and set down. In one case it was dropped in a neighbor's yard.

In photos taken by Rockaway Beach resident Adelaido Bautista, you can see the roof torn off a garage and part of a neighboring building. Some of that debris ended up in other people's yards.

Photo courtesy Adelaido Bautista

Especially hit hard was the Neahkahnie School District building, where windows were broken by flying debris.

"I have not heard of any significant injuries but there's plenty of property damage," said Tillamook County Deputy Ahlers early in the day. "The Neahkanie School District buildings were hit hard, though does not sound like there is any impact to school operations."

Photo courtesy Adelaido Bautista

The noise and other sensations were frightening, according to many. Resident Pam Murray told Oregon Coast Beach Connection there was “kind of a roaring sound and sounds of things hitting our house.”

“Everything happened so fast,” Murray said. “We heard a very loud thunder, then the wind started blowing, loud crashing sounds, it was scary! It was night so we couldn't see what really happened until the next day.”

The atmospheric melee may not be over, according to meteorologists around the state. There are high winds forecast for Wednesday and there is a chance of more waterspouts off the Oregon coast.

Photo courtesy Tillamook County Sheriff's

There is currently a high wind warning in effect for the north Oregon coast on Wednesday.

“South winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph expected,” the NWS said. “Wednesday also will bring increased chances for thunderstorms with the chance for waterspouts near the coast.”

Waterspouts and tornadoes are extremely rare in this region. This one starkly contrasts the one in October of 2016, when a waterspout hit the beach at Manzanita – becoming a tornado – then tore up one third of the trees in town. It also severely damaged some buildings, smacking a total of 128 in that town altogether. See Two Tornadoes on Oregon Coast; Manzanita Severely Damaged, Video

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