Oregon, 2001

High Wind in Oregon, October 23, 2001

October 23, 2001 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$15,000
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 Oct 23, 7:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 23, 7:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
830 AM PDT TUE OCT 23 2001

HIGH WIND WARNING IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST
AREA.  THERE IS A 8.8 MB DIFFERENCE FROM PENDLETON TO OMAK ALONG
WITH A 140KT JET POSITIONED ALONG THE WASHINGTON/OREGON BORDER.  THE
JET WILL ALLOW STRONG WINDS ALOFT TO MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE FOR
POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS AND AREAS OF BLOWING DUST. HIGH WIND
WARNING HAS ALREADY VERIFIED OVER THE BLUES AND RATTLESNAKE RIDGE
REPORTING WINDS 65 GUSTS TO 73 KNOTS AT THIS HOUR.

THE WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING OROGRAPHIC MOUNTAIN
SHOWERS.  SNOW LEVELS HAVE FALLEN TO 3500-4000 FEET AFTER THE
PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT MONDAY EVENING.  SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL BE
LIGHT ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES AND THE
EASTERN MOUNTAINS.

FORECAST ON TRACK AND ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE MADE.  SMITH

PDT 213 ALW 213  PSC 1-2  YKM 002

.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP31/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR TODAY FOR WASHINGTON ZONES 24/26-30
        AND OREGON ZONES 41/42/44/45/46.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Lower Columbia Basin

When
October 23, 11:00 AM PST to 2:00 PM PST
Where
Lower Columbia Basin forecast zone
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Property damage
$15,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
45.506, -119.160 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong winds knocked down tree branches and created a significant amount of blowing dust in the Lower Columbia Basin during the late morning and early afternoon hours. In Boardman, sustained winds of 55 mph were accompanied by gusts as high as 65 mph. Blowing dust reduced visibilities to 3/4 of a mile around noon. In Hermiston, winds blew a transformer off a pole and a large tree onto some power lines.

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, October 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: 5271302.