Washington, 2001

High Wind in Washington, March 13, 2001

March 13, 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
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 Mar 13, 2:45 PM PST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 2:45 PM PST, 45 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
245 PM PST TUE MAR 13 2001

A FAST MOVING COLD FRONT IS ALMOST ONSHORE IN NORTHWESTERN
WASHINGTON AT THIS TIME...AND IS EXPECTED TO MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS
THE PACNW THIS MORNING. EXPECT FRONTAL PASSAGE IN THE PENDLETON AREA
AROUND 10 AM. THE SYSTEM WILL DROP MOST OF ITS PRECIPITATION OVER
THE CASCADES. THUS WILL KEEP SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FOR RAIN TODAY FROM
THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN WASHINGTON CASCADES THROUGH THE
COLUMBIA BASIN TO THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS...WITH CHANCE
POPS OVER THE BLUES TODAY DECREASING TO SLIGHT CHANCE TONIGHT. THE
MAIN CONCERN TODAY WILL BE WINDS. WITH A 110 KNOT JET STREAM MOVING
DIRECTLY OVER OUR AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...EXPECT UPPER
LEVEL WINDS TO MIX DOWNWARD...REACHING WARNING CRITERIA THROUGH MUCH
OF OUR AREA. WILL THEREFORE UPGRADE THE EXISTING HIGH WIND WATCH...
WHICH EXPIRES AT 4AM TODAY..TO A HIGH WIND WARNING EXPIRING AROUND
8PM TONIGHT. EXPECT WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS GREATER THAN 60
MPH. WILL ALSO INCLUDE A BLOWING DUST ADVISORY BASED ON DRY SOIL
CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY WHERE HIGHWAYS ARE NEAR RECENTLY PLOWED
FIELDS. THE HIGH WINDS SHOULD DECREASE BELOW WARNING CRITERIA
OVERNIGHT. BY WEDNESDAY A COOLER AIRMASS WHICH FOLLOWS THE DEPARTING
SYSTEM WILL BRING MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND COOLER TEMPERATURES. WINDS
WILL BE IN THE 10 TO 15 MPH RANGE AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WEAKENS.
FARMER

EXTENDED...NEXT WAVE TO BECOME NEGATIVELY TILTED AND NOSE INTO
OREGON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. THUS HAVE ADD MENTION OF A CHANCE OF
PRECIP TO MOST ZONES FOR SOME PART OF THURSDAY. PATTERN EXPECTED TO
RETURN TO THAT OF A FLAT RIDGE FOR CONTINUED UNSETTLED CONDITIONS
THROUGH MONDAY. NO OTHER CHANGES TO CURRENT FORECASTS BEYOND
THURSDAY.  GKH

PDT 210  ALW 210  PSC 200  YKM 200

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

.KPDT...HIGH WIND WARNING AND BLOWING DUST ADVISORY TUESDAY FOR THE
        KITTITAS AND YAKIMA VALLEYS...THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN...THE
        BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS...NORTH CENTRAL OREGON AND CENTRAL
        OREGON...

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 13, 2:15 PM PST, 1 hour 15 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
215 PM PST TUE MAR 13 2001

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

0100 PM    10 N RICHLAND             WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

0100 PM    14 SW HANFORD             WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 43
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

0100 PM    6 NW HANFORD              WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 44
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

0115 PM    10 SW HANFORD             WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 42
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

0115 PM    16 SW HANFORD             WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

0115 PM    14 SW HANFORD             WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 46
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

0115 PM    8 N RICHLAND              WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

0130 PM    10 SW HANFORD             WA   NON TSTM WINDS
03/13/01   BENTON                         SUSTAINED WINDS OF 46
                                          MPH WITH GUSTS TO 61
                                          MPH. REPORTED BY
                                          HANFORD MESONET.

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, Blue Mountain Foothills

When
March 13, 3:30 PM PST to 3:45 PM PST
Where
Blue Mountain Foothills forecast zone
Measured
44 kt (51 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
46.264, -118.193 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Sustained winds of 43 mph with gusts as high as 51 mph were measured by an ASOS at the Walla Walla Airport. Dust picked up from the Columbia basin reduced visibilities to a couple of miles at times during the afternoon.

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, March 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: 5236268.