High Wind in Oregon, December 1, 2001

Name: High Wind in Oregon, December 1, 2001
Start: 2001-12-01T07:00
End: 2001-12-01T12:00
Location: Oregon

December 1, 2001 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $100,000
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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 1, 2:45 AM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 1, 2:45 AM PST, 4 hours 15 minutes before

NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
245 AM PST SAT DEC 1 2001

AN UPPER LOW OFF THE COAST WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPLY WARM AIR
ADVECTION OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY.  THIS WARM
AIR ADVECTION WILL AID IN PRODUCING LIGHT PRECIPITATION OVER MUCH OF
THE FORECAST AREA THIS MORNING.  THE PRECIPITATION WILL DECREASE
THIS AFTERNOON OVER OUR WESTERN FORECAST AREA AND OVER THE REMAINDER
OF THE AREA TONIGHT AS THE SYSTEM EXITS OUR REGION.  STRONG WINDS
AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM WILL PRODUCE WINDY CONDITIONS OVER MOST OF THE
AREA TODAY.  IN FACT...GUSTS MAY REACH 60 MPH OVER THE
BLUES...GRANDE RONDE VALLEY AND WALLOW COUNTY BY LATE MORNING AS 700
MB WINDS INCREASE TO 75 MPH.  AS A RESULT...HAVE UPGRADED THE HIGH
WIND WATCH TO A WARNING OVER PORTIONS OF NORTHEAST OREGON.  THE
WINDS SHOULD SLOWLY SUBSIDE TONIGHT AS THE SURFACE LOW PRESSURE
MOVES INTO SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA.  MODELS ARE HAVING A DIFFICULT
TIME WITH THE TRACK OF THE NEXT SYSTEM WHICH SHOULD BEGIN AFFECTING
OUR WESTERN AREAS SUNDAY MORNING.  WILL LEAN TOWARDS THE AVN
SOLUTION AS IT HAS BEEN THE BETTER MODEL LATELY.  THEREFORE... WILL
GO WITH AN INCREASING THREAT OF PRECIPITATION BEGINNING SUNDAY
MORNING OVER OUR WESTERN ZONES.  THE PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD TO
OUR EASTERN ZONES BY LATE AFTERNOON SUNDAY.  AT THIS TIME...BELIEVE
MUCH OF THE ACCUMULATING PRECIPITATION WILL HOLD OFF UNTIL SUNDAY
NIGHT.  ANOTHER QUESTION TO PONDER IS HOW MUCH COLD AIR WILL FILTER
DOWN FROM CANADA.  THE SYSTEM TODAY WILL LIKELY SCOUR OUT ALL
REMAINING COLD AIR OVER THE BASIN SO PRECIPITATION WILL START OUT AS
RAIN...BUT SHOULD TURN TO SNOW SUNDAY NIGHT AS 1000-850 MB
THICKNESSES FALL BELOW 1310.  PRESENTLY...APPEARS RAIN WILL TURN TO
SNOW TOO LATE FOR ANY APPRECIABLE ACCUMULATION OVER THE BASIN AND
FOOTHILLS.  EARLE

EXTENDED...THE UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT
WEEK AS THE PATTERN REMAINS PROGRESSIVE. COOLER TEMPERATURES WILL BE
OVER THE AREA TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY AS THE JET PLUNGES SOUTH OFF THE
COAST AND COLDER AIR ALOFT MOVES OVER THE AREA. RIDGING BETWEEN
SYSTEMS ON WEDNESDAY MAY PRODUCE ONE DRY DAY...PARTICULARLY DURING
THE DAY. THERE MAY BE PRECIPITATION TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
NIGHT...BUT MY CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW TO CHANGE IT YET. WILL LET DAY
SHIFT EVALUATE TIMING MORE CLOSELY. THEN A WARMING TREND WILL OCCUR
LATER  IN THE WEEK AS THE COLDER AIR MOVES FARTHER NORTH AND
THICKNESS VALUES INCREASE.  COONFIELD

PDT 833  ALW 833  PSC 723  YKM 824

.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR OREGON ZONES 46...49 AND 50
        AND WASHINGTON ZONE 30.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Foothills of the Blue Mountains

When: December 1, 7:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
Where: Foothills of the Blue Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph)
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High winds along the foothills of the Blue Mountains brought reports of tree damage and scattered power outages. A tractor trailer overturned after having been blown off Highway 11 near Athena. The driver reported only minor injuries. Sustained winds over 40 mph were reported during the morning hours by several spotters along Highway 11 between Pendleton and Milton - Freewater. An off duty NWS employee reported several trees and power lines down in southwest Pendleton. Other mature trees were downed near Milton - Freewater. At the Pendleton Airport, ASOS reported sustained winds of 50 mph with gusts up to 62 mph just before noon.

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

Every storm in Oregon in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, December 2001

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: 5273661.