Washington, 2001

High Wind in Washington, April 17, 2001

April 17, 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
$20,000
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 Apr 16, 7:30 PM PST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 16, 7:30 PM PST, 5 hours before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
830 PM PDT MON APR 16 2001

TONIGHTS WEATHER WILL COME FROM A SURFACE LOW AND ASSOCIATED COLD
FRONT THAT IS MOVING NORTHEAST FROM CENTRAL OREGON THIS EVENING.
GUSTY SOUTH WINDS AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT FROM REDMOND SOUTH AND
EAST WILL BEGIN TO DECREASE BETWEEN 04Z-06Z AS THE FRONT PUSHES
NORTHEAST. THE WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE AS STRONG ONCE THE FRONT
REACHES THE BASIN AND EAST SLOPES OF THE BLUES AROUND MIDNIGHT.
THERE MAY BE SOME ISOLATED GUSTS NEAR 25 MPH...BUT NOTHING NEAR THE
40 MPH GUSTS IN CENTRAL OREGON EARLIER THIS EVENING. BESIDES THE
WIND AND SOME CLOUDS...MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION IS REMAINING ALONG
THE WEST SIDE OF THE CASCADES. SOME SHOWERS MAY SLOP OVER THE CREST
OF THE CASCADES AND AFFECT REDMOND AND THE DALLES...BUT THE BASIN
AND FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUES WILL LIKELY JUST SEE ISOLATED SHOWERS OR
REMAIN DRY. CURRENT FORECAST HAS THIS TREND HANDLED WELL. ALREADY
UPDATED EARLIER THIS EVENING FOR THE WINDS...SO NO OTHER UPDATES
EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

PDT 2133  ALW 2133  PSC 2112  YKM 3211

.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP32/CSR21.2..OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...NONE.

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, Benton/Franklin/Walla Walla T Se/E Klickitat

When
April 17, 12:30 AM PST to 3:30 AM PST
Where
Benton/Franklin/Walla Walla T Se/E Klickitat forecast zone
Measured
69 kt (79 mph)
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.220, -119.419 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several reports of damage near Benton City resulted from high winds that blew through the area during the early morning hours. A spotter in Benton City estimated a wind gust of 80 mph at 1:15 am PST, which removed several shingles from his house. A large tree fell across State Highway 225 in Benton City. Winds also downed tree limbs in nearby Sunnyside.

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 Washington in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, April 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: 5240492.