High Wind, Seattle Metropolitan Area
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Seattle Metropolitan Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
High Wind in Washington, January 1, 1997
Sustained winds of 40 mph with gusts to 65 mph were reported in Mukilteo. The Hood Canal Bridge was closed for several hours.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 8
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.
Sustained winds of 40 mph with gusts to 65 mph were reported in Mukilteo. The Hood Canal Bridge was closed for several hours. Winds to 60 mph in Arlington destroyed two airplanes that were tied down. In the Seattle area winds were a bit less, but still knocked down trees and cut off power to 113,000 homes.In Granite Falls, NE of Everett, a gustnado blew down nearly 200 trees which destroyed a car and killed a dog.In Colfax (eastern WA) winds blew over a radio tower that cost 40,000 to replace.
Event by event
8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Tacoma Area
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Tacoma Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
High Wind, Hood Canal/Kitsap Peninsula
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Hood Canal/Kitsap Peninsula forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
High Wind, Everett and Vicinity
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Everett and Vicinity forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
High Wind, Central Cascade Foothills
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Central Cascade Foothills forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
High Wind, Northern Cascade Foothills
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Northern Cascade Foothills forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
High Wind, Admiralty Inlet Area
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Admiralty Inlet Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
High Wind, Northwest Interior
- When
- January 1, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
- Where
- Northwest Interior forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Nevada, January 1 to 17, 1997
- Flooding in Washington, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flooding in California, January 1 to 17, 1997
- Storm Surge in California, January 1, 1997
- Flooding and High Wind in Oregon, January 1 to 5, 1997
- Drought in Texas, January 1 to 31, 1997
- Flood in California, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 1, 1997
- Flooding and High Wind in California, January 1 to 3, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 1, 1997
- Flood in Oregon, January 1 to 5, 1997
- Flood in California, January 1 to 2, 1997
More
Every storm in Washington in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 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: 5585019, 5585020, 5585021, 5585022, 5585209, 5585210, 5585211, 5585212.