Portland dodges forecasted thunderstorms but blustery winds, rain hit other parts of Oregon

It looks like Portlanders won’t get a trip to Oz after all. Thankfully.

The reports earlier Wednesday that a tornado might touch down in the Portland area made for eye-popping news, even if the likelihood of such an event never crested beyond 9%. A tornado never materialized in the city.

In fact, sunny skies greeted worried Portlanders for most of the day, and at 6 p.m. a bright rainbow spread over downtown.

And as of 7 p.m., the National Weather Service’s Portland office said it looked like the metro area would be spared any large hail storms or other majorly inclement weather — but we won’t know for certain until nightfall at 8:01 p.m.

“We have yet to see any significant large hail or strong, severe winds at this point,” said weather service meteorologist Rebecca Muessle. “It looks like those showers are starting to come a little bit to an end, too, but we’re not completely out of the clear yet.”

With rain falling there’s always a risk of hydroplaning, so drivers shouldn’t drop their guard this evening.

And if you’re reading this in Vancouver, that isn’t a car backfiring. Thunder has been reported in the area, said Muessle.

Stormy weather is more likely in the southern parts of the Willamette Valley, in and around Benton County.

A hot weather pattern put a tornado in the cards in the first place, but conditions will no longer be conducive to storms after it cools off at night.

“Once that sun goes down, if we’re not rocking by then, it’ll be more challenging to see those larger storms,” said Muessle.

In the meantime, check out The Oregonian/OregonLive’s tips for what to do in case of a tornado, here, and be sure to sign up for emergency weather alerts here.

—Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane.

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