Surprise funnel cloud rips through property near John Day
By Logan Bagett on Monday, November 6th, 2023 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
JOHN DAY – Several people are reporting storm damage from a surprise windstorm near John Day on Sunday. Tami Wyric took to social media to report roof damage at their place up Marysville Lane.
In an email to our newsroom, Wyric wrote, “We were at the door looking at the hail and saw cows running and a roof from a barn 1000 feet away blowing towards us, I grabbed my grandson [and] ran to the closet, my husband went to the back door worried for his mom who lives in a destination trailer above us. He saw the 10’x 12′ heavy porch blow over her home and saw [t]he home move.”
Wyric said the family incurred damage to roofs, a greenhouse, vehicles, and more. Luckily, in Grant County fashion, the neighbors were there within minutes and helped with patching the roof, cleaning broken glass, and providing moral support.
Tami said, “The roar was so loud, we had seconds from seeing what was coming, to it hitting us.”
Hydrologist George Perry of the National Weather Service in Pendleton was on KUMA’s Coffee Hour in Pendleton, and told Elkhorn Media Group listeners, “We got a report of some damage, and later on, we got a video, and there was very definitely a funnel cloud that formed and apparently hit the ground. We’re sending a couple of…people down today to take a look at the damage, to see whether it is consistent with a tornado or straight-line winds.
There was a house that had part of its roof torn off. There was a trailer home that got shifted four or five feet, and I believe there was also a hay barn that was knocked over. [At] any rate, that’s not something we see too often around here, and it’s really nice to get some video that showed the whole thing from beginning to end. That makes it pretty clear–probably a tornado, but we’ll make a determination on that today, I think.”
The video Hydrologist Perry was referring to was shot by Larry Palmer, and can be seen here:
Below are photos of the damage shared by Tami Wyrick:
Anyone with storm damage to report or photos to share, please email news@elkhornmediagroup.com with the subject line, “Grant County storm damage.”
