Officials survey tornado damage in Battle Ground

Meteorologists from the The National Weather Service surveyed the damage Tuesday from a small tornado that touched down in Battle Ground Monday evening.

The agency classified it as an EF 0 with winds reaching about 85 mph.

The weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning around 7:30 p.m. Monday for northern Clark County, including the areas of Battle Ground, Yacolt and Chelatchie. The agency predicted penny-sized hail and warned of a potential tornado.

On Tuesday, meteorologists said the tornado touched down at 7:06 p.m. around Northeast 72nd Avenue and state Highway 502. The twister traveled northeast and ended around 7:21 p.m. near Northeast 259th Street and 147th Ave., according to weather service radar. It traveled almost 4 miles and was about 240 yards wide.

The agency said the majority of the damage was between Northeast 92nd Avenue and 147th Avenue.

Some residents in the tornado’s path lost power for a moment. According to Clark Public Utilities, 946 Battle Ground customers saw a “blink” around 7:35 p.m. when two distributions breakers tripped and reclosed on their own. The utility received two wire down reports but said only a few customers were affected.

Battle Ground has seen a few minor tornados over the last decade, including an EF 1 that touched down in December 2015. That twister brought winds reported over 100 mph and took down trees and power lines.

More thunderstorms were expected Tuesday afternoon. The weather service forecasts a break in the rain today before another round of showers begins tonight. Forecasters predict the rain will stop for the weekend.