Rare Oregon coastal tornado rumbles ashore in Lincoln City

LINCOLN CITY, Ore. — The National Weather Service has confirmed that stormy weather on the Oregon coast briefly produced a tornado near Lincoln City.

The agency said it began as a water spout Friday night and moved inland.

Meteorologist Tiffani Brown said the weather service gets about two to four calls a year on water spouts. They are classified as a tornado when they come ashore, but Brown said it doesn’t happen often.

Brenda and Jim Ruble were among the handful of residents in the Lincoln City area who saw the tornado develop.

They told The Oregonian newspaper it looked like a fire in front of their oceanfront home at first because swirling droplets of water were lit up by beach lights.

Some homes and cars were damaged but no injuries were reported.