High Surf, North Coast
- When
- February 12, 12:30 AM PST to 7:30 AM PST
- Where
- North Coast forecast zone
- Deaths
- 3 direct, 0 indirect
High Surf in Washington, February 12, 1997
Three Coast Guard crew men were killed when their boat overturned in rough seas. They were on a search and rescue mission off the Quillayute River Bar when their boat capsized throwing all four of the crew overboard.
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.
Three Coast Guard crew men were killed when their boat overturned in rough seas. They were on a search and rescue mission off the Quillayute River Bar when their boat capsized throwing all four of the crew overboard. One survived. It was the first fatal capsizing for that type of rescue boat in its 35 year history.
Event by event
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Surf, North Coast | 1997-02-12 | 36 | Male | Boat | Direct |
| High Surf, North Coast | 1997-02-12 | 24 | Male | Boat | Direct |
| High Surf, North Coast | 1997-02-12 | 22 | Male | Boat | Direct |
What these are
- High Surf
- Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Surf in Hawaii, February 12 to 15, 1997
- Tornado in Texas, February 12, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, February 12, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Texas, February 12 to 13, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Utah, February 12, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 12 to 13, 1997
- Flooding in Texas, February 12 to 28, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Texas, February 12, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, February 12 to 13, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, February 12, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Texas, February 12 to 13, 1997
- Flood in Hawaii, February 12, 1997
More
Every storm in Washington in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5590118.