VIDEO: ‘Devastating’ thunderstorm blasts Eastern Oregon with 60 mph winds, plus hail and flooding
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A powerful thunderstorm pushed through the small town of Nyssa on the Oregon-Idaho border Wednesday afternoon, bringing marble-sized hail, torrential rain, flooding and estimated wind gusts of 60 mph to the area.
The storm knocked down outbuildings, trees, and powerlines, cutting power to Nyssa for several hours. Meteorologist Sophia Adams with the Boise National Weather Service told KOIN 6 News that meteorologists were taken by surprise when the storm dropped golf-ball-sized hail on areas of Idaho between Nyssa and Garden Valley.
“It was one of the strongest storms we’ve ever seen here at our office,” Adams said.
Powerful winds, rain and hail wreaked havoc on the small town of Nyssa Oregon on June 26, 2024. (LaRae Findling) The storm also halted a train in Nyssa and flooded the town’s only underpass, cutting residents off from the nearest bridge across the Snake River. (Nyssa Police Department) A tree toppled by the storm. (LaRae Findling) Powerlines damaged by Wednesday’s powerful winds. ((Nyssa Police Department)) Flooding in a Nyssa neighborhood Wednesday. (Nyssa Police Department) Corn flattened by the storm’s powerful winds. (LaRae Findling)
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KOIN 6 Meteorologist Kelley Bayern reports that monsoon moisture moving in from the south helped fuel the thunderstorm, which bowled through Nyssa between noon and 3 p.m. Pacific Time — 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mountain Time.
Video of the storm recorded by Malheur County resident LaRae Findling shows a cornfield bending under the force of the storm as it moved through the Nyssa area. While the NWS has a limited number of observation sites to record weather data in the rural town, meteorologists estimate that the strongest wind gusts may have surpassed 60 mph.
Lt. Rich Harriman with the Malheur County Emergency Management Division told KOIN 6 News that no one was injured by the storm in Eastern Oregon and that no local residents were displaced from their homes.
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The weather halted a train along the tracks that cut through the City of Nyssa. With no electricity to power the city’s drainage pumps, the downpour also flooded the only railroad underpass connecting western and eastern Nyssa. The halted train and flooding temporarily cut off the town’s access to Nyssa Bridge, adding as much as an hour to commutes as people were forced to travel north to Ontario or south to Adrian to cross the Snake River.
“Yesterday was a tough day,” the Nyssa Police Department wrote on social media. “The Community of Nyssa and the surrounding countryside experienced so much damage from this devastating storm.”
As of Wednesday morning, power has been restored to Nyssa. Malheur County officials worked through the night to drain and reopen the town’s vital underpass. Officials are still working to assess the damages in the area.
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