A tornado touched down in the area of Port Orchard, Wash., on Tuesday afternoon.

Homes were damaged and trees uprooted in Kitsap County, west of Seattle, when the tornado touched down just before 2 p.m.

WATCH: Rare tornado leaves path of destruction in Seattle suburb

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office called the damage “catastrophic,” saying it was contained to neighbourhoods east and south of a Walmart in Port Orchard. Power lines were down and roads were closed in the area, the sheriff’s office said.

“There’s quite a bit of residential damage,” Port Orchard public works director Mark Dorsey said.

“There’s going to be a dozen or so homes that people may not be staying in their house tonight and there’s definitely some commercial properties that sustained damage.”

WATCH: Floyd Parkins joins Jennifer Palma from Washington state after witnessing the tornado that touched down there on Tuesday afternoon. He describes what he saw.

Until we conduct a tornado survey tomorrow morning, we can not speculate on the strength of the tornado. — NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) December 18, 2018

Footage from the region shows homes without roofs and trees that have been uprooted.

“If you’ve seen some of the pictures of roofs torn off and damaged houses and buildings… everybody’s freaking out because, this is Washington,” Dorsey said. “We don’t have tornadoes in Washington.”

WATCH: Tornado causes widespread damage in Washington state

The South Kitsap School District says there are outages in the region and bus routes are delayed.

READ MORE: Alaska earthquake: ‘Major’ damage left by 7.0 magnitude jolt

There are no reports of any injuries at this time.

The sheriff’s department is asking everyone to stay off the roads Lund, Bethel, Salmonberry, Harris and Chase.

All Port Orchard bus service, including Southworth, has been suspended.

Severe weather blew through #PortOrchard this afternoon. The #RedCross is mobilizing volunteers in the area to provide assistance for all who are impacted. If you live in the area, please find safe shelter and wait for officials to let you know when it is ok to go home. #WaWx pic.twitter.com/7PHrnkf5bA — Red Cross Northwest (@RedCrossNW) December 18, 2018

Storm damage from Port Orchard in Kitsap county. Tornado touches down causing trees to uproot and structures to rip apart #wawx pic.twitter.com/7AWnJ9trwe — Jordan Steele (@TVsJordanSteele) December 18, 2018

Just getting this pictures from our chopper. A rare tornado damaged several homes and businesses in Port Orchard, 23 miles SW of Seattle. #wawx #Tornado #wx pic.twitter.com/uFES69AydB — Ted Land (@TedLandK5) December 18, 2018

In southern B.C., meteorologist Kristi Gordon says there is a risk of thunderstorms Tuesday with some hail possible but nothing like the intensity seen south of the border at this time.

Tornadoes are very rare for B.C.’s South Coast, although not unheard of, adds Gordon. The South Coast may get one tornado every 10 to 15 years.

Washington state averages 2.5 tornadoes a year, but December tornadoes are extremely rare, the National Weather Service service said on Twitter.

— With files from Nadia Stewart and The Associated Press</s>A powerful storm plowed into Washington state on Tuesday afternoon, bringing a tornado, high winds, heavy rain and heavy snow.

A tornado touched down in Port Orchard, Washington, causing a significant amount of damage to houses and the neighborhood. There are no reports of injuries at this time.

"Steady precipitation tapered off over the Seattle Metro area during the afternoon. But, scattered thunderstorms formed. One of these thunderstorms tracked over Port Orchard just before 2 p.m. local time," AccuWeather Meteorologist David Samuhel said.

According to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, most of the "catastrophic" damage is in the neighborhoods east and south of the Walmart in the 3400 block of Bethel Road Southeast.



"The atmosphere become very unstable as cold air aloft moved overhead. Meanwhile, surface temperatures were rather mild for December, reaching the 50s," Samuhel said.

Aerial shots of the damage showed homes that had entire roofs ripped off and other houses where trees had fallen on top of them.</s>Several homes damaged as tornado touches down near Port Orchard

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- A strong tornado touched down in Port Orchard Tuesday afternoon, heavily damaging several homes and toppling trees. Some minor injuries have been reported, but no one has needed hospitalization, according to Poulsbo Fire.

"KCSO, Port Orchard PD and several fire agencies have responded to a weather event that has caused catastrophic damage in the Port Orchard area," the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office said. "Most of the damage is contained to the area and neighborhoods east and south of WalMart."

Deputies say active power lines are down and gas companies are checking their supply lines for leaks.

RELATED: Rain, wind, snow expected to continue into the weekend

"STAY OUT OF THE AREA OR SHELTER IN PLACE! This area has not been deemed 'safe'," deputies tweeted. "Do not attempt to drive in the areas of Lund, Bethel, Salmonberry, Harris and Chase. Those roads are closed." Harris Road SE is closed between SE Lund Ave and SE Salmonberry Road due to the tornado. SE Salmonberry Road between Branson Drive SE and Harris Road SE is restricted to through access, Kitsap County Sheriff's Officials said.

Poulsbo Fire officials are asking that residents that are affected to either shelter in place or they can go to Saint Gabriel's Church at 1150 Mitchel Avenue.

"Mutual aid units from from all over the county, plus aid from Pierce County, are responding to assist going door to door," Poulsbo Fire officials said.

The tornado touched down around 1:45 p.m. near the intersection of Bethel Road and SE Lund, then went northeast behind the Walmart and into several neighborhoods, rendering some homes uninhabitable, according to Deputy Sheriff Scott Wilson with the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office.

"We're going inside that area going house to house asking those inside to voluntarily evacuate until the scene has been deemed clear," Wilson said. "We're going to bring in search and rescue dogs to make sure everyone is accounted for."

Emily Silverman was caught in the tornado as she was driving with her husband and 2-year-old son near the Walmart.

"And it's raining and it's pouring down really bad and before you know it everything was flying everywhere," she said. "Our car back windows blew out, our side windows blew out. Things hit us -- there were a few people who had some head injuries from being hit by things. A car got pushed into a back... there was an accident. It was crazy. There were things flying everywhere. I thought I was a goner."

She had her 2-year-old son in the back seat.

"So glad he's OK because the whole back window just busted in," Silverman said. "If it kept going and didn't leave as fast as it did, he could have been hurt really bad."

Video from Air 4 shows at the scene show a number of trees down and homes with roofs ripped off and debris scattered across yards.

"There's roof ripped off of things. There's windows bashed in. There's (power) lines down everywhere. It's just a mess," Silverman said. "There's big chunks of metal everywhere. It's just bad. It's really bad."

John Mueller was at work at a shipyard when he saw the social media video of the tornado and knew instantly it was his red home. He raced home to find heavy damage.

"If I could describe the house, it would be roofless," Mueller said. "The entire upstairs is gone. There's 2x4 and 4x4s sticking out of the walls. Glass shattered everywhere. The downstairs is just full of water and broken glass.... I think (the tornado) landed on top of the house. There's no garage door...there's nothing left."

Mueller said there was a basketball hoop in his cul de sac that was popular with his and his neighbor's kids.

"That basketball hoop that was on the other side of the cul de sac is upside-down in my garage...sticking out of one of the walls," he said.

He said his family was safe and firefighters helped collect his pet rabbit and cats.

"I'm just thankful that God has saved all the family members," Mueller said while holding his pet rabbit. "Two-legged and four-legged alike."

The Red Cross is mobilizing volunteers to help those who are impacted and opening a shelter at Saint Gabriel Roman Catholic Church.

"If you live in the area, please find safe shelter and wait for officials to let you know when it is ok to go home," Red Cross Northwest tweeted.

All Port Orchard routes bus service including Southworth has been canceled. All after school activities in South Kitsap School District have been canceled.

"There were a lot people freaking out...I was one of them," Silverman said. "It was just crazy. I've never seen anything like this in my life."

Based on damage it could be the strongest tornado to hit Western Washington since the F3 tornado that hit Vancouver, Washington on April 5, 1972. The National Weather Service confirmed based on radar and damage reports it was a tornado and will send a damage survey team to the area Wednesday to get an official rating.

According to TornadoProject.com this would be only the second ever reported tornado touchdown in Kitsap County. A weak F0 tornado touched down on April 9, 1991. No one was hurt in that tornado.

Only four previous tornadoes have ever caused injuries in Washington, according to TornadoProject.com.

On April 5, 1972, six people were killed and 300 were injured when a tornado struck Vancouver.

The three other tornadoes (Dec. 12, 1969 in King County, April 5, 1972 in Lincoln County, and June 29, 1989 in Clark County) had just one injury each.</s>(SEATTLE) — A National Weather Service storm damage survey team is heading to a town west of Seattle where a strong tornado blew through a neighborhood.

The rare twister touched down Tuesday in Port Orchard, Washington. It damaged several homes and toppled trees.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The National Weather Service crew will determine just how powerful the storm was.

The Kitsap County sheriff’s office told local media the damage was “catastrophic” and contained to neighborhoods east and south of a Walmart in Port Orchard.

The sheriff’s office says power lines were down and roads were closed in the area.

Port Orchard is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Seattle, across Puget Sound on the Kitsap Peninsula.</s>PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (KING) Witnesses are sharing first-hand accounts of a tornado that touched down in Port Orchard, Washington Tuesday afternoon.

Tornadoes in Washington state are rare with an average of two or three a year. Tornadoes in December are even more rare, averaging only 0.1 a year, the National Weather Service said.

“It’s devastating,” said Mary Hicks. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve never experienced the devastation that a tornado can do.”

“When I was outside it started heavy rain, and then hail, and then the wind and I saw the tornado like spinning and I thought I was going to get sucked up,” Jennifer Connelly Delay said. “And then somebody came to my house and said there might be another one in 30 minutes, so I went in my house and waited for another one to come. And by the grace of God, another one didn’t come. I feel very protected by God.”

The tornado uprooted trees and destroyed homes and buildings, but fortunately, no injuries were reported.</s>A tornado touched down south of Port Orchard on Tuesday just before 2 p.m. causing trees to be uprooted and structures to be torn apart.

Aerial shots of the damage showed homes that had entire roofs ripped off and other houses where trees had fallen on top of them.

Most of the "catastrophic" damage is confined to the neighborhoods east and south of the Walmart in the 3400 block of Bethel Road Southeast, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office. There are active power lines down in those neighborhoods, and gas companies are checking their supply lines for leaks.

RELATED: Why did we see a tornado in Port Orchard?

Residents are advised to avoid those areas or shelter in place as those neighborhoods have not been deemed safe, according to the sheriff's office.

Lund Avenue, Bethel Road, Salmonberry Road, Harris Road, and Chase Road are all closed while crews investigate.

There are no reports of injuries.

The National Weather Service confirmed the storm was a tornado based on radar imagery and video evidence. However, until the weather service conducts a tornado survey Wednesday it cannot speculate how strong the tornado was.

South Kitsap School District said its students were safe, but some schools were out of power. All after-school activities have been canceled. Bus routes will be delayed this afternoon.

The Red Cross is mobilizing a response to the damage. An emergency evacuation center opened at St. Gabriel Roman Catholic Church at 1150 Mitchell Avenue Southeast in Port Orchard for people who need a safe place until they can return home.

The Gig Harbor Fire Department will also send a strike team to assist.

Bus service through Port Orchard has been canceled, according to Kitsap Transit. Affected routes include 4-Tremont, 5-Sidney, 8-Bethel, 9-South Park, 81-Annapolis Commuter, 85-Mullenix Express, 86-Southworth Shuttle, Purdy Connection & Kitsap Ride. Two larger buses will attempt ferry-take-homes as best they can from the Port Orchard dock.

Additional showers will move through Port Orchard on Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. Isolated thunderstorms are possible elsewhere in Western Washington.

Port Orchard is about 23 miles southwest of Seattle.</s>PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (AP) – Authorities say a tornado touched down near Port Orchard Tuesday afternoon, damaging several homes and toppling trees.

The National Weather Service in Seattle said on Twitter that based on radar imagery and video evidence, a tornado touched down south of Port Orchard shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The service says they will send a team tomorrow morning to survey the area.

KOMO-TV reports damage has been reported on Rhapsody Drive and at the Bethel Tavern.

Video from the television station’s helicopter at the scene shows trees down, homes with roofs ripped off and debris scattered across yards.

There were no immediate reports of any injuries.</s>A National Weather Service storm damage survey team is heading to a town west of Seattle where a strong tornado blew through a neighbourhood.

The rare twister touched down Tuesday in Port Orchard, Washington. It damaged several homes and toppled trees.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

The National Weather Service crew will determine just how powerful the storm was.

READ MORE: Tornado touches down in Port Orchard, Wash., leaving damage in its wake

The Kitsap County sheriff’s office told local media the damage was “catastrophic” and contained to neighbourhoods east and south of a Walmart in Port Orchard.

The sheriff’s office says power lines were down and roads were closed in the area.

WATCH: A rare tornado touched down Tuesday in the Washington state town of Port Orchard, leaving a wide path of damage. Nadia Stewart reports.

Port Orchard is about 15 miles (24 kilometres) west of Seattle, across Puget Sound on the Kitsap Peninsula.</s>Update: First responders say no injuries have yet to be reported as they asses the area hit by a tornado in Kitsap County earlier Tuesday afternoon.

Washington State Patrol says firefighters were going door to door in the affected area offering voluntary evacuations to a nearby church. Several residents have been asked to shelter in place.

WSP said downed trees and power lines in roadways have caused a number of outages, but crews are working to clear them and restore power.

Previous coverage: A tornado appears to have touched down in a western Washington county Tuesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service said that based on radar imagery and video evidence, a tornado touched down south of Port Orchard in Kitsap County this afternoon right before 2 p.m.

According to KIRO, a review of Dopple radar data suggest debris were lofted at least 6,000 feet into the atmosphere after the touchdown near the Bethel community.

The apparent tornado appeared to brief and was gone prior to any warnings being issued.

No injuries have been reported, but the storm did cause damage to several homes in the area.

The NWS says it is working with emergency management partners on the extent of the damage. They will not be able to survey the area before dark tonight, but plan to send a team Wednesday morning.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.</s>A tornado touched down in the area of Port Orchard, Wash., on Tuesday afternoon.

Homes were damaged and trees uprooted in Kitsap County, west of Seattle, when the tornado touched down just before 2 p.m.

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office called the damage “catastrophic,” saying it was contained to neighbourhoods east and south of a Walmart in Port Orchard. Power lines were down and roads were closed in the area, the sheriff’s office said.

About 50 buildings were affected, Deputy Scott Wilson told the Seattle Times.

WATCH: Floyd Parkins joins Jennifer Palma from Washington State after witnessing the tornado that touched down there on Tuesday afternoon. He describes what he saw.

Footage from the region shows homes without roofs and trees that have been uprooted.

The South Kitsap School District says there are outages in the region and bus routes are delayed.

There are no reports of any injuries at this time.

The sheriff’s department is asking everyone to stay off the roads Lund, Bethel, Salmonberry, Harris and Chase.

All Port Orchard bus service, including Southworth, has been suspended.

In southern B.C., meteorologist Kristi Gordon says there is a risk of thunderstorms Tuesday with some hail possible but nothing like the intensity seen south of the border at this time.

Tornadoes are very rare for B.C.’s South Coast, although not unheard of, adds Gordon. The South Coast may get one tornado every 10 to 15 years.

Washington state averages 2.5 tornadoes a year, but December tornadoes are extremely rare, the National Weather Service service said on Twitter.

— With files from The Associated Press
A powerful tornado touches down near Port Orchard, Washington. Several structures are severely damaged or destroyed.