Waterspouts Spotted Off Washington Coast, Lightning Strikes Hoquiam Church

Published 11/20/24 at 7:07 p.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Hoquiam, Washington) – A variety of dangerous weather conditions hit the Washington coast on Wednesday (November 20), with at least two waterspouts seen offshore, a range of damage from winds, power outages and even a lightning strike on a church on the central coast. (Above: waterspout off Long Beach - Ian Reed / Long Beach's Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center)

Meanwhile, three different high surf advisories remain in effect for awhile for the entire Oregon coast and Washington coast.

The National Weather Service (NWS) offices in Portland and Seattle reported two waterspouts off the Washington coast being seen on Wednesday, happening in the midst of a tornado warning for the region around the Washington south and central coast.

In fact, Ian Reed with Long Beach's Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center photographed one waterspout at about 3:20 p.m.

“A thunderstorm west of the Columbia River mouth was moving to the northeast this afternoon, and formed a well-defined waterspout just west of the Long Beach peninsula,” the NWS said before the tornado warning expired at 5 p.m. “It was observed between 3:16 and 3:30 by trained weather spotters on far south Long Beach peninsula. This storm, which is still capable of producing waterspouts (and, if comes onshore, will be a tornado), will move onshore near Cape Shoalwater and North Cove in far northwest Pacific County between 4:15 and 4:40. A Tornado Warning is in effect for that area until 4:30 pm today.”

See Washington Coast Weather - Oregon Coast Weather (including tides) - Inland Oregon Weather

It wasn't long before a second tornado / waterspout was seen.

Waterspout photo courtesy NASA (several years ago)

“At 414 PM PST, a confirmed waterspout was located just offshore near Tokeland, or 11 miles south of Westport, moving north at 25 mph,” the NWS in Seattle said.

No damage was reported or any injuries, and as yet it does not appear either waterspout touched on ground, which would've made either classified as a tornado.

Waterspouts / tornadoes can come with lightning storms hovering in the area, and there were several of these today, causing the tornado warning.

One lightning storm struck the Seron Lutheran First Presbyterian Church in Hoquiam, just inland along the harbor near Westport and Ocean Shores. It struck the 1928-built steeple and broke it into pieces.

Photo courtesy David Galvin, showing a waterspout in Depoe Bay in 2020

According to various news reports, the thunderstorm's winds were heavy enough to blow parts of it more than a block away.

No one was inside the church, according to KING 5 in Seattle. The lightning strike also caused a water main break in the street below the church.

You can see another photo of that here.

The Local Storm Reports for Washington and Oregon had a few entries for extreme weather events late Tuesday and Wednesday, including this one in the afternoon for the Washington coastline:

Photo courtesy Tillamook County Sheriff's: damage in Rockaway Beach from a tornado in recent weeks

“Report of many downed trees in Ocean Park on Sandridge Rd. and Pacific Way from strong non-convective wind gusts that occurred on 11/19/2024 with a strong low pressure system offshore,” the NWS said.

By morning, the northern end of the Long Beach Peninsula had lost power due to heavy winds offshore.

See Tornado Confirmed in Rockaway Beach earlier this month

There were three surf advisories still in effect on the Washington and Oregon coastlines until about 7 p.m., but the advisory for the south Washington and north Oregon coast expired since then. Breakers up to 28 feet were expected.

Two still remain: one for the northern two thirds of Washington beaches and one for the southern half of Oregon's coastline. Waves up to 24 feet are expected in those areas until about 4 a.m. The latter includes towns such as Port Orford, Coos Bay, Brookings and Bandon.

Both coastlines and much of the Pacific Northwest are moving into a calmer and sunnier set of conditions for a few days.

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