TUALATIN, Ore. — A massive thunderstorm descended upon Washington County on Thursday about 6:20 a.m., with loud claps heard and lightning striking from Portland's West Hills south to Newberg.
Portland General Electric reported thousands lost power in the storm. Power lines came down on Allen Boulevard in Beaverton, between Highway 217 and Lombard Street.
In the back yard of a house in Garden Home, lightning struck a tree and set it ablaze. Tim Gordon reported from the scene there were no injuries.
Rebeca Aguila shared a video of the thunder with KGW.
For many people, the boom of the thunder and shaking of homes served as their morning alarm clock.
"We woke up to the loudest thunder I have ever heard. Power went down and back twice. Cells stopped working for a while," Katie Hager told KGW.
Kate Montag said the thunder was so loud it was setting off car alarms.
Kirsikka Newkowin said this wasn't a typical Pacific Northwest storm.
"I am in Ashcreek, and it is crazy here. I grew up in this area, and it’s just never like this. Very unusual. I did spend a year in Michigan, and this is much more like a Midwest thunderstorm than we ever see," Newkowin said.
Karin Madsen, a coordinator at Elsie Stuhr Center in Beaverton said they had to make due with limited services due to the power outage.
"No dining for meals on wheels, no drop ins, no classes, weight rooms, or coffee bar. Luckily we have paper files still, not solely connected to technology, we were able to contact TriMet for lift services and ride connection," Madsend said."We have no phone service, so we are relying on our cell phones, staff are charging them in their cars right now. Until the power comes on we’ll just have to listen to that lovely little buz. We’ll just roll with it."
The storm had finally weakened by 7:30 a.m.