Name: High Wind in Oregon, November 28, 2001
Start: 2001-11-28T08:00
End: 2001-11-28T12:00
Location: Oregon

The toll

Deaths: 0
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 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 Nov 28, 3:00 AM PST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 28, 3:00 AM PST, 5 hours before

NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
300 AM PST WED NOV 28 2001

MID AND UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS CONTINUE TO SPREAD INTO THE CWA AHEAD OF
THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM. IT HAS BEEN SNOWING AT REDMOND SINCE
MIDNIGHT. SNOW WILL SPREAD OVER THE AREA TODAY. THERE WILL BE
SIGNIFICANT WARM AIR ADVECTION...PARTICULARLY IN THE SOUTHERN OREGON
ZONES...BUT THERE IS SUFFICIENT COLD AIR IN PLACE THAT THE
PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN AS SNOW AND THEN CHANGE TO FREEZING RAIN OR
RAIN THIS AFTERNOON...BECOMING ALL RAIN AT LOW ELEVATIONS TONIGHT.
PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS LOOK TO BE LESS ALONG THE BLUE...OCHOCO AND
WALLOWA MOUNTAINS...BUT STILL ENOUGH TO WARRANT SNOW ADVISORIES
THERE. TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL BE STEADY OR RISING IN MANY
LOCATIONS BECAUSE THE WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL CONTINUE UNTIL AFTER
THE COLD FRONT PASSES EARLY THURSDAY MORNING. STRONG PRESSURE
GRADIENTS OVER THE BLUES AND GRANDE RONDE VALLEY WILL PRODUCE VERY
WINDY CONDITIONS IN THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY TODAY WITH THE TERRAIN
NEAR LADD AND PYLES CANYONS CREATING GUSTS TO 60 MPH. THERE WILL BE
SOME RAIN SHADOW DRYING ON THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CASCADES THURSDAY
AFTER THE FRONT PASSES...PARTICULARLY IN OREGON...BUT IT WILL BE
SHORT LIVED AS THE NEXT SYSTEM WILL RAPIDLY MOVE IN THURSDAY
EVENING.   COONFIELD

EXTENDED...THE TROUGH PASSING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT WILL KEEP
A CHANCE OF PRECIP IN THE FORECAST. WEAK SHORT WAVE RIDGING ON
FRIDAY WILL BEGIN TO DRY THINGS OUT ACROSS THE AREA...STARTING FROM
THE SOUTH.  HOWEVER...A QUICK MOVING SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE
CASCADES FRIDAY NIGHT.  EXPECT PATTERN OF PACIFIC SYSTEMS EVERY
24-48 HOURS TO CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE EXTENDED PERIOD.  NO CHANGES
TO EXTENDED PORTION OF FORECAST. MITTELSTADT

PDT 874  ALW 874  PSC 863  YKM +63

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

.KPDT...HEAVY SNOW WARNING TODAY FOR OREGON
        ZONES 42...43 AND WASHINGTON ZONE 25...26 AND 27...
     ...A SNOW ADVISORY TODAY FOR OREGON ZONES 46...47...50 AND
        WASHINGTON ZONE 30...
     ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR
        WASHINGTON ZONE 24 AND OREGON ZONES 41...
     ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR WASHINGTON ZONES
        28...29 AND OREGON ZONES 44...45...
     ...HIGH WIND WATCH TODAY FOR OREGON ZONE 49...

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Foothills of the Blue Mountains

When: November 28, 8:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
Where: Foothills of the Blue Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

An intense surface low pressure system moving into western Oregon brought widespread damaging winds along the foothills of the Blue Mountains ahead of a warm front. A peak wind gust of 65 mph was measured at the Helix High School at 10:00 am. The strongest winds were felt right at the base of the Blue Mountains, especially along highway 11 between Pendleton and Milton-Freewater. Sustained crosswinds of 45 mph with gusts over 60 mph, along with sleet and icy conditions, blew several cars and high-profile trucks off the road, leading to its closure for several hours. Interstate-84 east of Pendleton was closed for 14 hours beginning at 9:30 am. In addition, several trees were toppled in Milton-Freewater.

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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, November 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: 5272750.