Rare Tornado Touches Down In Western Washington

MONROE, WA - The National Weather Service in Seattle has confirmed that a tornado touched down in Monroe on Thursday morning.

The twister measured a zero on the enhanced Fujita scale, but strong winds did cause some damage. Photos from the Speedway RV Park along Main Street in Monroe show toppled vehicles and other scattered damage. There were no injuries reported as a result of the tornado.

The tornado touched down at the south end of the city along SR 522, just north of the Monroe Correctional Complex. The tornado happened at around 10:30 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.

One local resident caught the tiny twister on camera:

Tornadoes in Western Washington are extremely rare, although Snohomish County has seen seven since record keeping bagan in the late 1800s - that's the highest among King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. Washington state typically sees about two tornadoes per year, according to the National Weather Service.

The enhanced Fujita scale measures tornado strength on a scale of zero to five. A EF-Zero has maximum winds of up to 85 MPH - while an EF-five has winds in excess of 200 MPH.

Image via Pixabay