Portland man killed as thunderstorm topples trees, knocks out power

PORTLAND, Ore. - A strong thunderstorm rolled through the Portland area Saturday afternoon, bringing heavy hail and strong winds that knocked out power and toppled trees, one of which landed on a vehicle and killed a Portland man.

That tree came down at the base of Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, just off Barbur Boulevard and landed on a vehicle, killing the sole occupant.  Police identified the driver as 59-year-old David Paul Cady.

Top Wind Gust Speeds Salem - 36 mph Portland - 41 mph Beaverton - 38 mph Hillsboro - 38 mph Oregon City - 41 mph

The storm was so powerful that some people even thought a tornado had blown through but according to KATU Weathercaster Carlos Faura, the National Weather Service believes it was actually straight-line winds that came down and blew straight across the ground. Strong thunder, lightning and nickel-sized hail was reported as well.

The severe weather didn't last long and within a few hours had calmed down.  But it did leave damage in its wake, as evidenced by some of the reports we received from YouNews reporters.

There were also thousands of people without power.  At one point on Saturday, the lights were out for 30,000 PGE customers.  By Sunday afternoon, crews had knocked that number down to less than 2,000.

PGE also wanted to remind folks to never touch or even approach a downed utility line.  Customers can report outages by calling (503) 464-7777 in Portland, (503) 399-7717 in Salem or (800) 544-1795 in other areas.