The National Weather Service in Seattle told emergency responders on Wednesday morning that the chance of tornados in the state has increased as a round of thunderstorms and severe weather bears down on Western Washington.
While the likelihood of tornadoes touching down in Western Washington on Wednesday is just 5% to 9%, it’s likely the region will see thunderstorms with large hailstones and severe wind this afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm was initially predicted to hit the Lewis County area between 4 and 5 p.m. this afternoon and should last one to two hours, according to an announcement from the National Weather Service.
Later estimates from the NWS estimated the thunderstorms would arrive later in the early evening.
Severe hail is the most likely threat in Lewis County with a 15% to 29% chance of hailstones an inch or greater in diameter. There is a 10% chance of those hailstones getting as large as 2 inches wide, according to the National Weather Service.
Other potentially dangerous weather conditions include a 5% to 14% chance of wind up to 58 mph. The announcement also warned of possible flooding in local areas without good drainage. One to 1-and-a-half inches of rainfall are expected to fall in the Lewis County area.
An announcement from Lewis County Emergency Management advised community members to seek shelter in their homes or other stable structures and to stay away from windows and tune in to local news or a NOAA Weather Radio station for real-time updates.
The Washington Emergency Management Division also suggests that in the case of a tornado residents should get to the lowest level of their house, shelter under something sturdy and cover their heads until the storm has passed.
“If you are receiving golf ball hail or larger, you are near the most dangerous part of a severe storm, which could be followed by a tornado,” the vision wrote in a news release.
Residents of Lewis County can sign up for the county’s emergency messaging system, Lewis County Alert, at https://lewiscountywa.gov/departments/emergency-management/lewis-county-alert/. Residents can call Lewis County Emergency Management at 360-740-1151.
