Clark County and Southwest Washington are under a severe thunderstorm watch through 9 p.m. tonight, according to the National Weather Service in Portland. Washington counties included in the watch include Clark, Cowlitz, Lewis, Skamania, Pierce, King and Thurston. The watch stretches from Portland through the mid-Willamette Valley to Linn County in Oregon. The weather agency said there is a risk of damaging hail, ranging from the size of quarters to golf balls, along with wind, lightning, heavy rain and downed trees and power outages. Wind gusts of up to 70 mph are possible. “A funnel cloud or tornado cannot be completely ruled out either, albeit probabilities for a tornado are 2% or less within 25 miles of any given location,” the agency said early Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter.

Tornados are rare in Clark County, though a few have been reported in the last few years. Homes were damaged in an EF1 tornado that hit Battle Ground in 2015. A strong tornado in January of 2008 formed near Vancouver Lake then climbed to Hazel Dell where it did major damage to homes and businesses. No one was injured in either tornado, both of which saw winds of up to 100 mph. For more information on what to do if you get a tornado warning, visit weather.gov/safety/tornado.

Look at that spin! This nearby low pressure system is bringing potential for severe thunderstorms.?? The current clear skies will help warm the atmosphere, priming it for convection later. This video was captured of the GOES-W satellite from 8 AM – 12 PM PDT. #ORWX #WAWX pic.twitter.com/KmSa9D2qUw — NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) March 26, 2025