Miami Standard (Seattle, WA) – With massive hail, destructive winds, and the potential for tornadoes predicted over the Interstate 5 corridor, where strong thunderstorms are practically unheard of, the Pacific Northwest may see a meteorological oddity on Wednesday.

NOAA’s Storm Prediction Centre (SPC) has issued a rare severe weather potential prediction for the Pacific Northwest, predicting that warmer temperatures would contribute to the development of thunderstorms throughout the region on Wednesday afternoon and evening.

A region in the Pacific Northwest has been designated by the SPC as having a level 2 out of 5 risk of severe thunderstorms on Wednesday. Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon are all included in this region.

Since the SPC updated its severe weather prediction system over ten years ago, Wednesday’s forecast is the first level 2 threat for downtown Seattle, according to the FOX Forecast Centre.

A weaker category 1 hazard affects a greater portion of the Northwest, including Boise, and stretches from the Pacific Northwest coast to western Idaho.

Strong gusts and big hail will be the main issues, but a quick tornado spin-up is also a possibility.

The biggest risk on Wednesday will be hail, since this storm may produce hail as large as a quarter or an egg. The majority of the I-5 corridor, including Portland and Salem, Oregon, as well as several areas in the south and east of Seattle, is a highlighted area with the highest risk of destructive hail.

“I-5 from Eugene all the way through Seattle, you’ve got a tornado threat. I know it’s weak, but it’s there. It raises eyebrows,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen said.

The worst storms are expected to sweep along the I-5 corridor Wednesday during the afternoon commute, moving northeast of the Puget Sound, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Source: Seattle, Portland face rare severe thunderstorm threat with tornado and large hail risk Wednesday