High Wind, Western Whatcom
- When
- October 29, 11:00 PM PST to October 30, 2:00 PM PST
- Where
- Western Whatcom forecast zone
- Measured
- 44 kt (51 mph)
- Deaths
- 4 direct, 0 indirect
High Wind in Washington, October 29 to 30, 1997
Winds at the Bellingham airport were sustained 31 mph with gusts to 51 mph through most of the night. Out over the waters around Lummi Island a 58 foot boat, the Miss Lindsay, with 4 people aboard was overturned and the four onboard perished.
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
- 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.
Winds at the Bellingham airport were sustained 31 mph with gusts to 51 mph through most of the night. Out over the waters around Lummi Island a 58 foot boat, the Miss Lindsay, with 4 people aboard was overturned and the four onboard perished. Wind waves of 5 to 6 feet were suspected in their deaths.
Event by event
1 high wind. 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 Wind, Western Whatcom | 1997-10-30 | Boat | Direct | ||
| High Wind, Western Whatcom | 1997-10-30 | Boat | Direct | ||
| High Wind, Western Whatcom | 1997-10-30 | Boat | Direct | ||
| High Wind, Western Whatcom | 1997-10-30 | Boat | Direct |
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
More
Every storm in Washington in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, October 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: 5617197.