Rare tornado touches down in Seattle suburb, damaging several homes

BREMERTON, Wash. – Trees were knocked into houses, roofs ripped from their buildings and gas lines were clipped as a rare tornado struck suburban Seattle on Tuesday afternoon.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter for those affected by the tornado in Port Orchard, about 15 miles west of Seattle.

Hannah Lawhead was pumping gas at a Safeway when the tornado touched down.

“It was busting through the Walmart parking lot,” she said. “It was crazy.”

National Weather Service Meteorologist Jeff Michalski said it appeared the winds and rain broke off from a larger thunderstorm line marching through the Puget Sound region.

“Based on radar, it seemed pretty quick and isolated, there have been no other reports of damage,” Michalski said. “That’s the nature of these types of storms.”

According to NOAA, the last tornado to hit Kitsap County was in 1991, when a twister struck Tracyton, pelting the area with record-setting hail.

Calls to 911 reporting trees into houses started at about 1 :55 p.m. Tuesday. The worst damage hit near the Port Orchard Walmart on Bethel Road.

Kathleen Matthews followed her daughter-in-law downstairs to a closet where they took shelter until the storm passed.

She described hearing a "freight train."

After the storm passed, she went outside to survey the damage and check on neighbors. Two homes were destroyed in the neighborhood. One family was inside when in happened.

"They were home and they were a little rattled, shall we say," Matthews said. 

Matthews said she had to evacuate her home because of a gas leak, but she found little damage.

"Other than the fact that are fence blew down, which was no big deal. If there was, I don't care, because I have a home still standing," she said.

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office tweeted that the damage is "catastrophic:"

"Most of the damage is contained to the area and neighborhoods east and south of Wal-Mart. Active power lines are down and gas companies are checking their supply lines for leaks. STAY OUT OF THE AREA OR SHELTER IN PLACE! This area has not been deemed 'safe.'”

Some areas have been isolated by knocked down trees and emergency responders are going door-to-door checking on residents. As the tornado struck, 911 dispatchers received word of trailers being knocked over. One man was trapped inside but apparently freed himself.

Officials are planning to go to the area Wednesday and conduct a storm survey to gauge the strength of the tornado.

As the wind raged, rain fell in torrents nearby.

Bremerton National Airport showed about a one-third of an inch of rain from about 1:20 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. but did not experience heavy winds.

The timing of the incident delayed all South Kitsap School District buses, district spokeswoman Amy Miller said. As high school students prepared to leave the building the storm hit. Students were held at school until officials there could assess the safety of routes.

Ken Cole lives in area where the tornado struck and described the wind as "massive."

About six houses in that cul-de-sac “are all destroyed,” he said.

“Now we gotta find somewhere to go,” Cole said.

John Mueller and his wife were working at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard when he saw a video of the tornado churning above the Walmart  near their home. They left work and headed home to find it almost unrecognizable. The upstairs was destroyed – the entire roof had been ripped off – the downstairs walls were off their foundations, shattered glass was everywhere, boards were sticking out of the walls.

"It's just not our house," Mueller said.

Firefighters went into the house and rescued their animals.

"God is with us, it's OK," he said. "Everybody's OK."