High Wind in Oregon, December 16 to 17, 2001

Name: High Wind in Oregon, December 16 to 17, 2001
Start: 2001-12-16T15:00
End: 2001-12-17T17:00
Location: Oregon

December 16 to 17, 2001 · NWS PQR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Trees were downed and power outages reported where wind gusts to 60 mph were reported at Portland, Salem, Silverton, Woodburn and Canby. 8500 customers reportedly lost power in the Salem-Woodburn area.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

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 16, 2:55 PM PST, 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 2:55 PM PST, 5 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
255 PM PST SUN DEC 16 2001

...CORRECTED ADVISORY SECTION...

.SYNOPSIS...COLD FRONT OFF THE COAST WILL MOVE THROUGH SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON TONIGHT...WITH SNOW LEVELS LOWERING
WELL BELOW THE PASSES BY MONDAY MORNING. STRONG COASTAL WINDS AND
HEAVY RAIN WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT. WEAK HIGHER PRESSURE WILL MOVE
INTO THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY FOR DECREASING SHOWERS. THE NEXT
FRONTAL SYSTEM PUSHES INTO OUR FORECAST AREA TUESDAY WITH WINDY
CONDITIONS ON THE COAST...AND POSSIBLE LOW SNOW LEVELS IN THE
MORNING. THE NEXT SYSTEM FOR WEDNESDAY MAY ALSO HAVE INITIALLY LOW
SNOW LEVELS IN THE MORNING. ADDITIONAL SYSTEMS EXPECTED THROUGH THE
REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...WARM OVERRUNNING PRECIPITATION IS WEAKENING AS A STRONG
COLD FRONT JUST OFFSHORE BECOMES THE DOMINANT FEATURE. MCKENZIE
BRIDGE PROFILER STILL SHOWS THE SNOW LEVEL NEAR 6000 FEET IN THE
CASCADES. THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH OUR AREA TONIGHT...AND THE
SLOWER ETA MODEL IS LOOKING BETTER THAN THE FASTER AVIATION MODEL.
THERE APPEARS TO BE A GOOD PERIOD OF PRECIPITATION WITH THE FRONT AS
SNOW LEVELS DROP...AND AS A RESULT WILL GO OUT WITH A SNOW ADVISORY
IN THE CASCADES MAINLY FOR A 3 TO 6 HOUR PERIOD CENTERED ON FRONTAL
PASSAGE LATER TONIGHT. WILL CONTINUE WITH THE HIGH WIND
WARNINGS...WITH A PEAK GUST OF 70 MPH AT NETARTS SO FAR. WINDS
SUPPORTED BY THE NEWPORT PROFILER...WHICH ALSO WAS HELPFUL THIS PAST
THURSDAY. UPGRADED GALE WARNING TO A STORM WARNING...CONTINUING HEAVY
SURF ADVISORY AND MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW STATEMENT. THE FLOOD WATCH
REMAINS...AND SEVERAL FLOOD WARNINGS HAVE ALREADY BEEN ISSUED.

POST FRONTAL SHOWERS EASE MONDAY WITH A LOSS OF ONSHORE FLOW. SNOW
LEVELS WILL BE WELL BELOW THE PASSES. THE NEXT SYSTEM SPREADS
OVERRUNNING INTO OUR AREA MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...AND WITH
OFFSHORE FLOW AHEAD OF IT WE MAY SEE SOME SNOW IN THE GORGE AND
LOCALLY LOW SNOW LEVELS JUST TO THE WEST OF THE GORGE. THE FRONT
COMES ONSHORE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND THINGS SHOULD MIX OUT. LOOKS
WINDY AT THE COAST AGAIN.

THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF VARIATIONS WITH THE TRACK ON THE FOLLOWING
SYSTEM FOR WEDNESDAY. THE LOW CENTER COULD BE FAIRLY DEEP...AND
SHOULD AGAIN INDUCE PRETTY GOOD OFFSHORE FLOW FOR LOW SNOW LEVELS
AGAIN IN THE GORGE. CURRENT AVIATION HAS THE TRACK A LITTLE TO OUR
SOUTH WHICH IS COULD BRING SNOW OUT OF THE GORGE...BUT THIS IS
UNCERTAIN FOR NOW. WILL TREAT THIS SYSTEM SIMILAR TO THE ONE ON
TUESDAY FOR NOW.

.LONG TERM...MODELS SHOW SYSTEMS STILL AFFECTING OUR AREA...BUT SOME
SKIRTING US MORE TO OUR NORTH. A BROAD BRUSH OF A CHANCE OF VALLEY
RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SEEMS PRUDENT AT THIS TIME. TOLLESON

AST +77979 PDX +559868 SLE +55878 EUG +65878

.PQR...HIGH WIND WARNING COAST EARLY TONIGHT.
       HIGH WIND WARNING COAST RANGE EARLY TONIGHT.
       SNOW ADVISORY SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON
        CASCADES TONIGHT.
       STORM WARNING COAST.
       HEAVY SURF ADVISORY COAST TONIGHT.
       MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW STATEMENT FOR THE COAST.
       FLOOD WATCH MUCH OF SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND
        NORTHWEST OREGON TODAY THROUGH MONDAY.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 16, 10:22 AM PST, 4 hours 38 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
1022 AM PST SUN DEC 16 2001

TIME(PST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

1020 AM    NETARTS                   OR   NON TSTM WINDS
12/16/01   TILLAMOOK                      WINDS 40-50 MPH WITH GUSTS
                                          TO 70 MPH/RCVG MIST.
                                          SPOTTER: TILLAMOOK 1.

Local storm report, Dec 16, 1:24 PM PST, 1 hour 36 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
124 PM PST SUN DEC 16 2001

TIME(PST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0117 PM    RAYMOND                   WA   NON TSTM WINDS
12/16/01   PACIFIC                        FQT GUSTS OVR 50 MPH/ONE
                                          INCH PLUS PCPN IN PAST 7
                                          HRS/COMMENTED THAT SOME
                                          RAYMOND CITY RESIDENTS
                                          BASEMENTS ARE FLOODING.
                                          SPOTTER: PACIFIC 2.

Local storm report, Dec 16, 1:33 PM PST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
133 PM PST SUN DEC 16 2001

TIME(PST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0131 PM    LINCOLN CITY              OR   NON TSTM WINDS
12/16/01   LINCOLN                        GUSTS TO 60 MPH/PRES 29.60
                                          INCHES AND FALLING LIKE A
                                          ROCK. SPOTTER: LINCOLN 5.

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central Willamette Valley

When: December 16, 3:00 PM PST to December 17, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Central Willamette Valley forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Greater Portland Metro Area

When: December 16, 3:00 PM PST to December 17, 5:00 PM PST
Where: Greater Portland Metro Area forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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: 5275464, 5275465.