Columbia River Bar

PZZ210 · Coastal Waters Forecast, National Weather Service Portland OR · issued Sun, Sep 27, 1:14 AM PDT

Small Craft Advisory in force. In the main channel:

Columbia River Bar on the map

The zone and the zones around it, tinted where a marine warning or advisory is in force. Tap a neighboring zone to open its forecast.

Small Craft Advisory

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys

Now

The nearest stations reporting each, as of Sun, Sep 27, 1:48 AM PDT.

Wind: Calm, gusts 6 kt at ASTO3
Waves: 3.3 ft at 9 s at 46243
Water: 64°F at ASTO3

Alerts in force

Small Craft Advisory from Sun, Sep 27, 12:56 AM PDT until Sun, Sep 27, 5:00 AM PDT

Small Craft Advisory issued September 27 at 12:56AM PDT until September 27 at 5:00AM PDT by NWS Portland OR

The full text

* WHAT...Rough bar conditions expected. 4 to 6 ft at 9 seconds and
north winds 10 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt.

* WHERE...In the Main Channel of the Columbia River Bar.

* WHEN...Small Craft Advisory, until 5 AM PDT early this
morning. Small Craft Advisory, from 2 PM this afternoon to 8
PM PDT this evening.

* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft,
especially when operating near to, or attempting to cross, the
Columbia River Bar.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Ebb current of 4.88 kt at 531 AM Sunday.
Seas 3 to 4 ft. Strong ebb current of 5.98 kt at 549 PM Sunday. Seas
5 to 6 ft. Ebb current of 4.64 kt at 606 AM Monday. Seas 6 ft.

A Small Craft Advisory means that wave conditions are expected to
be hazardous to small craft in the vicinity of the Columbia River
Bar. Mariners are advised to obtain the latest bar conditions
from the United States Coast Guard before attempting to cross the
bar.

Small Craft Advisory from Sun, Sep 27, 2:00 PM PDT until Sun, Sep 27, 8:00 PM PDT

Small Craft Advisory issued September 27 at 12:56AM PDT until September 27 at 8:00PM PDT by NWS Portland OR

The full text

* WHAT...Rough bar conditions expected. 4 to 6 ft at 9 seconds and
north winds 10 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt.

* WHERE...In the Main Channel of the Columbia River Bar.

* WHEN...Small Craft Advisory, until 5 AM PDT early this
morning. Small Craft Advisory, from 2 PM this afternoon to 8
PM PDT this evening.

* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft,
especially when operating near to, or attempting to cross, the
Columbia River Bar.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Ebb current of 4.88 kt at 531 AM Sunday.
Seas 3 to 4 ft. Strong ebb current of 5.98 kt at 549 PM Sunday. Seas
5 to 6 ft. Ebb current of 4.64 kt at 606 AM Monday. Seas 6 ft.

A Small Craft Advisory means that wave conditions are expected to
be hazardous to small craft in the vicinity of the Columbia River
Bar. Mariners are advised to obtain the latest bar conditions
from the United States Coast Guard before attempting to cross the
bar.

The forecast

Coastal Waters Forecast from National Weather Service Portland OR, issued Sun, Sep 27, 1:14 AM PDT, valid until Mon, Sep 28, 1:15 AM PDT. Wind in knots, seas in feet.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM PDT EARLY THIS MORNING

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING

In the main channel
General seas: 3 to 4 ft building to 6 ft Monday morning.
First ebb: Ebb current of 4.88 kt at 531 AM Sunday. Seas 3 to 4 ft.
Second ebb: Strong ebb current of 5.98 kt at 549 PM Sunday. Seas 5 to 6 ft.
Third ebb: Ebb current of 4.64 kt at 606 AM Monday. Seas 6 ft.

Synopsis

Synopsis for the southern washington and northern oregon coast

Breezy northerly winds continue at times through this evening. A west to northwesterly swell arrives on Tuesday, leading to an increase in wave heights the remainder of the week.

Buoys and stations nearby

The latest report from each station within reach of the zone, nearest first. Distances in nautical miles from the middle of the zone.

Station	Distance	Wind	Waves	Water	Air	Pressure	Reported
ASTO3 9439040 - Astoria, OR	2 nm	Calm		64°F	56°F		Sun, Sep 27, 1:48 AM PDT
46243 Clatsop Spit, OR (162)	16 nm		3.3 ft at 9 s	57°F	56°F		Sun, Sep 27, 1:30 AM PDT
TOKW1 9440910 - Toke Point, WA	30 nm	NE 10 kt, gusts 12		60°F	53°F	1018.1 hPa	Sun, Sep 27, 1:48 AM PDT
46029 COLUMBIA RIVER BAR - 20NM West of Columbia River Mouth	32 nm	NNE 16 kt, gusts 19	5.2 ft at 9 s from NW	55°F	56°F	1016.6 hPa	Sun, Sep 27, 1:50 AM PDT
LOPW1 9440422 - Longview, WA	34 nm			65°F		1017.3 hPa	Sun, Sep 27, 1:48 AM PDT
46248 Astoria Canyon, OR (179)	37 nm		5.2 ft at 9 s from NW	57°F			Sun, Sep 27, 1:26 AM PDT

The past year

Warnings, watches and advisories the National Weather Service issued for this zone over the past 12 months, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet’s archive.

Product	Issued	Most recent
Gale Warning	21	Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 11:00 PM PDT
Hazardous Seas Warning	21	Fri, Sep 25, 2026, 1:30 PM PDT
Special Marine Warning	2	Wed, Nov 5, 2025, 4:37 PM PST
Storm Warning	1	Sat, Oct 25, 2025, 12:00 PM PDT
Gale Watch	13	Thu, Sep 24, 2026, 11:00 PM PDT
Hazardous Seas Watch	3	Mon, May 25, 2026, 5:00 PM PDT
Small Craft Advisory	115	Sun, Sep 27, 2026, 2:00 PM PDT
Dense Fog Advisory	1	Sun, Sep 28, 2025, 2:58 AM PDT

What this means

Marine forecasts give wind in knots (1 knot is 1.15 mph) and seas in feet, except the high seas forecasts, which give seas in meters. Seas are the significant wave height, the average of the highest third of the waves; individual waves may be more than twice that. On the Great Lakes the forecast gives waves, not seas. "Wave Detail" splits the seas into the wind waves and each swell, with its direction and period.

Each coastal office writes a Coastal Waters Forecast for the bays, sounds and ocean out to 20 to 60 nautical miles, or on the Great Lakes a Nearshore Marine Forecast within 5 nautical miles of shore; the Open Lakes Forecast covers the rest of each lake. The Ocean Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center write the Offshore Waters Forecasts out to about 250 nautical miles, and the High Seas Forecasts beyond. Forecasts are issued at least twice a day and updated when they go wrong.

Small Craft Advisory: Winds or conditions hazardous to small boats. The thresholds are set by each NWS region: typically sustained winds or frequent gusts of 20 to 25 knots up to 33 knots, and seas of 5 to 7 feet or more.
Gale Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 34 to 47 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Storm Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 48 to 63 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Hurricane Force Wind Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 64 knots or more, not from a tropical cyclone.
Special Marine Warning: A thunderstorm or squall over the water with winds or gusts of 34 knots or more, hail of 3/4 inch or more, or a waterspout, for up to two hours.
Hazardous Seas Warning: Wave heights or steepness at or above the office’s warning threshold, when the wind alone does not warrant a warning.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning: Spray freezing on a vessel at 2 cm (3/4 inch) an hour or more.
Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings: Tropical storm (34 to 63 knots) or hurricane (64 knots or more) conditions expected within 36 hours. Watches: possible within 48 hours.

Nearby

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys The hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zone Seaside and Cannon Beach Long Beach Peninsula, Washington Every Pacific Coast zone

Sources

Coastal Waters Forecast CWFPQR from National Weather Service Portland OR, issued Sun, Sep 27, 1:14 AM PDT. Original at NWS. Buoy reports from the National Data Buoy Center. Past products from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Zone outlines from the NWS marine and offshore zone boundaries. Warnings and advisories from the NWS API, read 09:50 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.