Oregon, 2001

High Wind in Oregon, February 1 to 3, 2001

February 1 to 3, 2001 · NWS PQR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A Pacific storm brought high winds and heavy swell to the North and Central Oregon Coastal areas. On the North Oregon Coast, Netarts reported wind gusts to 59 mph, Cannon Beach gusts to 58 mph, Tillamook gusts to 52 mph and Garibaldi gusts to 43 mph.

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.

A Pacific storm brought high winds and heavy swell to the North and Central Oregon Coastal areas. On the North Oregon Coast, Netarts reported wind gusts to 59 mph, Cannon Beach gusts to 58 mph, Tillamook gusts to 52 mph and Garibaldi gusts to 43 mph. Buoy 29, at the mouth of the Columbia River on the North Oregon Coast, reported sustained winds to 43 mph with gusts to 56 mph and swell to 23 feet. Along the Central Oregon Coast, Newport reported gusts to 53 mph and Buoy 50, near Newport, reported swell to 24 feet.

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 Feb 1, 2:30 AM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 1, 2:30 AM PST, 30 minutes before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
230 AM PST THU FEB 1 2001

UPPER RIDGE HAS SHIFTED TO E OF CASCADES.  SATELLITE SHOWING CLOUDS
ASSOCIATED WITH WARM FRONT/WEAKENING PAIR OF VORT MAXES MOVING UP TO
COAST.  MODELS INDICATE MAIN LIFT AND DEEPER MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH
COLD FRONT NOT MOVING UP TO COAST UNTIL LATE TODAY AND MOVING ACROSS
FORECAST AREA TONIGHT.  SURFACE GRADIENTS WITH THE WEAKENING COLD
FRONT TONIGHT DO NOT APPEAR TIGHT ENOUGH OR ORIENTED IN A FAVORABLE
DIRECTION TO INFER MUCH OF A HIGH WIND THREAT FOR THE COAST.  AS THE
ENTIRE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO DRIFT NORTH INTO NORTHERN BC FRI...THE
SECONDARY TROUGH ROTATING THROUGH APPEARS TO PACK MOST OF ITS PUNCH
IN WA AND POINTS NORTH.  A FAIRLY STRONG 850 MB WESTERLY FLOW
DEVELOPS BEHIND THE FRONT FRI...ESP UP TOWARDS WA.  SNOWFALL
POTENTIAL FOR CASCADES...ESP WA...WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED...BUT
FEELING AT THIS POINT IS THAT SNOW ADVISORY WILL ULTIMATELY BE
NEEDED.  AS SNOW LEVELS DO NOT COME DOWN TO NEAR PASSES UNTIL AFTER
THE FRONT LATE TONIGHT...WILL HOLD OFF ON SNOW HEADLINES FOR NOW.

AST 6+9  PDX 398  SLE 398  EUG 388

.KPDX...GALE WARNING CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Northern Oregon Coast

When
February 1, 3:00 AM PST to February 3, 9:00 PM PST
Where
Northern Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Central Oregon Coast

When
February 1, 3:00 AM PST to February 3, 9:00 PM PST
Where
Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 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

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, February 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: 5233160, 5233161.