High Wind in Oregon, December 12 to 14, 2001

Name: High Wind in Oregon, December 12 to 14, 2001
Start: 2001-12-12T15:00
End: 2001-12-14T21:00
Location: Oregon

December 12 to 14, 2001 · NWS PQR · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 PQR wrote it up.

A strong winter storm brought high winds to the Oregon Coast, Coastal Mountains, and Willamette Valley resulting in widespread power outages and toppled trees. At Sea Lion Caves the wind gusts were estimated to be 70 to 75 with gusts 90 to 95 mph. Elsewhere winds were measured in Florence at 70 gusts to 79 mph, Newport Jetty 57 gust to 68 mph, Yachats gusts to 60 mph and Wheeler gusts to 90 mph. In the Coastal Mountains Cedar Creek RAWS reported gusts to 61 mph, The Dunes RAWS gusts to 62 mph and Cannibal RAWS gusts to 57 mph. In the Willamette Valley the Portland Airport recorded a gust to 47 mph. Central Lincoln P.U.D. reported 5000 customers lost power. In Astoria, the 66-foot crab boat Defiant was torn loose from its mooring...it drifted into shallow water and ran aground.

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 Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 2:30 PM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 12, 2:30 PM PST, 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
230 PM PST WED DEC 12 2001

.SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF SYSTEMS WILL CONTINUE AFFECTING SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. A SYSTEM
CURRENTLY OVER THE AREA WILL MOVE EAST LATE TONIGHT...PRODUCING
VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. THE NEXT STRONGER SYSTEM BRINGS
POSSIBLE HEAVY RAIN...STRONG COASTAL WIND...AND RISING MOUNTAIN SNOW
LEVELS TO THE AREA THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL
LOWER WELL BELOW PASSES AGAIN FRIDAY. ANOTHER MOIST SYSTEM IS
EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND...WITH A WARM FRONT SATURDAY AND THE TRAILING
COLD FRONT LATE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. COOL SHOWERY WEATHER IS
EXPECTED MONDAY. PRECIPITATION WILL EASE TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...OVERRUNNING MOISTURE IS OVER OUR AREA...WITH ONE MORE
BATCH JUST OFFSHORE. THE UPPER SHORT WAVE MOVES EAST BETWEEN 06Z AND
12Z TONIGHT FOR DECREASING PRECIPITATION. WILL KEEP THE SNOW ADVISORY
UP...THOUGH IT MAY POSSIBLY MIX TO RAIN AT SOME OF THE PASSES. NEVER
REALLY GET INTO ANY COLD ADVECTION BEHIND THIS SYSTEM...AS THE NEXT
SYSTEM SPREADS COPIOUS OVERRUNNING RAINFALL MID DAY OR SO THURSDAY
INTO THURSDAY NIGHT OVER THE FORECAST AREA. THE TRACK OF THE LOW
CENTER HAS BEEN IN DOUBT...BUT MODELS STARTING TO TREND TOWARD
SOMEWHERE NORTH OF ASTORIA. THIS WILL POSSIBLY GIVE HIGH WIND TO THE
COAST AS WELL...AND WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THURSDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SNOW LEVELS WILL RISE WELL ABOVE THE PASSES
THURSDAY. TRAILING COLD AIR FRIDAY DROPS SNOW LEVELS BACK TO 2000
FEET OR LESS. IT IS STILL A BIT TOO EARLY FOR AN ADVISORY FOR THIS.

SHOWERS EASE FRIDAY NIGHT...THEN THE NEXT OVERRUNNING PRECIPITATION
EVENT OCCURS SATURDAY. SHOULD SEE LOW SNOW LEVELS INITIALLY WITH THIS
SYSTEM...WITH POSSIBLE SNOW IN THE GORGE.

WILL HAVE A GALE WARNING UP FOR THE MOST PART INTO FRIDAY FROM THE
FIRST 2 SYSTEMS. SEAS WILL BE IN THE TEENS...THOUGH MIGHT REACH 20
FEET AROUND FRIDAY.

.LONG TERM...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT. ONCE
THE WARM FRONT MOVES THROUGH SATURDAY...THE TRAILING COLD FRONT COMES
IN LATE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. POST FRONTAL SHOWERS CONTINUE MONDAY
WITH LOW SNOW LEVELS. SHOWERS LOOK TO DWINDLE TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
FOR NOW. TOLLESON

AST +++879 PDX +9+868 SLE +9+868 EUG +9+867

.PQR...GALE WARNING COASTAL WATERS.
       SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND
         CENTRAL OREGON CASCADES.
       HIGH WIND WATCH THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING IN THE SOUTH
         WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COASTS.

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central Oregon Coast

When: December 12, 3:00 PM PST to December 14, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured: 83 kt (96 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Northern Oregon Coast

When: December 12, 3:00 PM PST to December 14, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured: 83 kt (96 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Coast Range of Nw Oregon

When: December 12, 3:00 PM PST to December 14, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Coast Range of Nw Oregon forecast zone
Measured: 83 kt (96 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Greater Portland Metro Area

When: December 12, 3:00 PM PST to December 14, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Greater Portland Metro Area forecast zone
Measured: 83 kt (96 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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: 5275454, 5275455, 5275456, 5275457.