VANCOUVER, Wash. -- Witnesses say a tornado touched down in Hazel Dell area near Vancouver just after noon Thursday, causing some damage.

A strong thunderstorm was moving through the area at the time, and then, witnesses say, the wind just became incredible.

"We're right off of Hazel Dell Avenue and it started off with a couple of clashes of lightning and thunder," Chad Kent told KATU-TV in Portland. "We went to the window to check out the sheets of rain coming down. Soon after, we had branches flying literally straight at our second story window from trees that were easily a thousand feet away. The wind was incredible. My hand was up against the glass and it felt like it should have shattered on me."

The National Weather Service says they received reports the tornado touched down at 78th Street and Fruit Valley Road in Vancouver, then moved northeast to I-5 and 108th Street.

So far, there are no reports of injuries, but there were reports of downed power lines, uprooted trees and roofs torn off houses, the Clark County sheriff's office, witnesses and news reports said. Utility officials say power to 1,200 customers was out.

A rare tornado warning was issued for the area, meaning a tornado was either spotted on the ground or depicted on radar. The warning was canceled 20 minutes later after the storm fizzled, but other strong storms are still in the area.

Vancouver is the site of the only deadly tornado ever to strike either Washington or Oregon. Three people died on April 5, 1972 when a tornado moved through the city.

Both Washington and Oregon average about one tornado a year each somewhere in the state. For Washington, 2007 was the first time since 2002 that no tornado was reported.

If confirmed as a tornado, this would be the only the third time since 1950 that a tornado was recorded in Washington state in January.

A tornado touched down near Dayton, Wash. on Jan. 16, 2000. That caused an estimated $100,000 in damage. Another tornado touched down in a rural area outside of Olympia, Wash, on Jan. 28, 2006, but didn't cause any damage.