High Wind in Washington, December 1, 2001

Name: High Wind in Washington, December 1, 2001
Start: 2001-12-01T14:00
End: 2001-12-01T20:30
Location: Washington

December 1, 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $125,000
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 Dec 1, 8:25 AM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 1, 8:25 AM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes before

NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
825 AM PST SAT DEC 1 2001

UPPER LOW OFF THE NORTHWEST WASHINGTON COAST AND ASSOCIATED WARM
FRONT THAT IS MOVING NORTH OVER WASHINGTON AND OREGON THIS MORNING
IS PROVIDING WARM AND WINDY CONDITIONS OVER THE PENDLETON FORECAST
AREA. FROM THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUES EAST TO THE GRANDE RONDE
VALLEY AND THE WALLOWA MOUNTAINS SOUTH WINDS ARE BLOWING 35 TO 45
MPH WITH GUSTS NEAR 60 MPH. THE VAD WIND PROFILE OFF THE KPDT
WSR-88D IS INDICATING 50-60 KT WINDS FOUR THOUSAND FEET OFF THE
SURFACE. WITH THE AREAS OF LIGHT RAIN...AND SNOW AT THE HIGHEST
MOUNTAIN ELEVATIONS...THESE WINDS WILL PERIODICALLY BE MIXED DOWN
DURING THE DAY. THE LOCATION NOT IN THE WARNING IS THE COLUMBIA
BASIN...AND THIS LOCATION WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED. RIGHT NOW THERE
WINDS ARE WELL BELOW WARNING CRITERIA...BUT MAY JUMP UP IF MORE
PRECIPITATION MOVES OVER THE AREA AND MIXES THE HIGHER WINDS TO THE
SURFACE. THERE WILL BE BRIEF LULLS IN THE WINDS DURING THE
MORNING...BUT ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON AS A
COLD FRONT APPROACHES THE REGION. THESE WARM TEMPERATURES HAVE
SCOURED OUT THE COLD AIR ALONG THE YAKIMA AND KITTITAS VALLEYS AS
WELL AS THE GORGE THIS MORNING. SO HAVE UPDATED TO REMOVE MORNING
SNOW WARNING. HAVE ALSO UPDATED THE WARNING ZONES TO INCREASE WIND
SPEEDS INTO THE WARNING CATEGORY. ALL OTHER ZONES HAVE A GOOD HANDLE
ON ONGOING SITUATION. MEAD

PDT 833  ALW 833  PSC 723  YKM 824

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

.KPDT...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR OREGON ZONES 45-46...49 AND 50
        AND WASHINGTON ZONES 29 AND 30.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 1, 12:33 PM PST, 1 hour 27 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
1233 PM PST SAT DEC 01 2001

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

0845 AM    LA PINE                   OR   SNOW
12/01/01   DESCHUTES                      4.0 INCHES NEW
                                          SNOW...16 INCHES ON
                                          GROUND. REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER
                                          DESCHUTES-62.

1045 AM    MILTON FREEWATER          OR   NON TSTM WINDS
12/01/01   UMATILLA                       ESTIMATED SUSTAINED
                                          WINDS 40 TO 50 MPH.
                                          ELEV 1060 FEET.
                                          REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER UMATILLA-1H.

1045 AM    8 NE PENDLETON            OR   NON TSTM WINDS
12/01/01   UMATILLA                       RECORDED PEAK WIND GUST
                                          56 MPH BETWEEN
                                          0500-0530 PST. ELEV
                                          1490 FEET. REPORTED BY
                                          STORM SPOTTER PENDLETON
                                          EXPERIMENTAL STATION.

1100 AM    PENDLETON                 OR   NON TSTM WINDS
12/01/01   UMATILLA                       DAMAGE IN SW PENDLETON.
                                          POWER OUTAGES. TREE
                                          BRANCHES AND POWER
                                          LINES DOWN. REPORTED BY
                                          OFF-DUTY NWS EMPLOYEE.

1117 AM    PENDLETON ARPT            OR   NON TSTM WINDS
12/01/01   UMATILLA                       RECORDED SUSTAINED WIND
                                          SPEED 44 MPH WITH PEAK
                                          GUST TO 48 MPH.
                                          PENDLETON
                                          AIRPORT...ELEV 1525 FEET.

1151 AM    PENDLETON                 OR   NON TSTM WINDS
12/01/01   UMATILLA                       RECORDED SUSTAINED WIND
                                          SPEED 50 MPH WITH PEAK
                                          GUST TO 62 MPH.
                                          NATIONAL WEATHER
                                          SERVICE OFFICE ELEV
                                          1554 FEET.

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: December 1, 2:00 PM PST to 8:30 PM PST
Where: Lower Columbia Basin forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph)
Property damage: $125,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.220, -119.419 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High winds brought scattered damage to the Lower Columbia Basin during the afternoon and evening. Widespread wind gusts of over 60 mph were felt over an area including Hanford, Mesa, Kennewick, and Richland. One of the automated wind sensors at Hanford measured a peak wind gust of 72 mph at 4 pm. Near Richland, several road signs were damaged along Interstate 82. Winds also blew part of a roof off of a house in Kennewick. Power was lost to parts of the Tri-Cities metropoliton area during the early evening, while several streets were temporarily closed due to downed trees and 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

Every storm in Washington in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, 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: 5273663.