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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A small tornado that touched down Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of a community college campus briefly lifted two people in a Jeep Cherokee into the air, then slammed the vehicle back down on its tires, witnesses said.
Student Josh Hollowell was between classes at Lane Community College's main campus when he saw the twister touch down, hitting four vehicles in the parking lot. The man in the Jeep told Hollowell he and his female companion were unhurt. A short time later they drove off.
No one was hurt, college spokeswoman Joan Aschim said.
"No injuries at all. We were very lucky," she said.
Both Hollowell and a campus safety officer, Sgt. Lisa Rupp, estimated the Jeep was lifted about 8 feet off the ground.
Hollowell, 39, of Cottage Grove, said he asked the man if he was OK.
"He said he and his girl were sitting in the car when it started hailing," the witness recalled. "They got out to look at the hail, got back in, shut the door and that's when the car lifted off the ground."
Before the tornado struck the four vehicles, Hollowell said he heard the wind pick up and saw "big branches going in circles in the air." He said he was about 100 yards away when the twister hit.
Aschim said she did not know the names of the couple in the Jeep.
Student Andrew Christensen was stunned to learn that his car was one of the four that were hit. He told the Register-Guard newspaper (http://is.gd/swAGxU) he was sitting in class when he heard about the tornado.
"I saw the cops out there, and heard it was a silver car," he said. "But I didn't really expect it to be mine." The wind picked up his Mitsubishi, flipped it upside down and smashed it into a grassy meridian.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jeremiah Pyle in Portland said witness accounts and numerous photographs convinced meteorologists that a tornado did occur shortly after 4 p.m.
Typically, winds must reach at least 70 mph to lift vehicles off the ground. Based on preliminary information, this tornado may have involved winds in the range of 70 to 110 mph, Weather Service meteorologist David Elson told the Register-Guard.
The tornado is only the seventh recorded in Lane County since 1950, the newspaper reported, citing National Weather Service data.
Eugene is about 100 miles south of Portland.
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