Dust devil causes rare damage in McMinnville Tuesday
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Reports of wind damage near McMinnville were brought to the Portland National Weather Service's attention Tuesday afternoon.
The damage was reported to have happened from 1 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. just northeast of downtown McMinnville near the Meggitt area.
Portland's National Weather Service official statement said the the McMinnville damage was caused by "swirling winds" that moved over a business. Those swirling winds or dust devil caused damage to a sky light on the rooftop of a business and to the ventilation system. The National Weather Service explains that "radar imagery and fire web cameras overlooking McMinnville indicates no notable showers were over the town at the time."
The "swirling winds" talked about by the National Weather Service were spotted by the velocity or wind detection capability of the weather radar.
Wind direction and speed is difficult to see, but the in and outbound winds seen with the green and red pixels is in the same location as the storm report.
On other occasions, this wind profile can sometimes mean a microburst, but no rain was reported at the time of the damage. A microburst is when heavy rain pulls colder air out of a storm. Once the fast moving air hits the ground, it moves out in different directions rapidly.