Washington, 2001

High Wind in Washington, May 19, 2001

May 19, 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 May 19, 7:35 AM PST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 19, 7:35 AM PST, 3 hours 20 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
835 AM PDT SAT MAY 19 2001...CORRECTED

AVN AND ETA MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT REGARDING POSITIONING AND
MOVEMENT OF THE UPPER LEVEL OFFSHORE RIDGE AND THE TROUGH OVER THE
ROCKIES. WILL CONTINUE USING THE AVN WHICH HAS BEEN THE MODEL OF
CHOICE OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS. UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS OVER OUR
AREA...ASSOCIATED WITH A MINOR DISTURBANCE MOVING THROUGH SOUTHERN
BRITISH COLUMBIA...WILL DECREASE LATE THIS AFTERNOON AS THAT SYSTEM
CONTINUES MOVING EAST. DRY STABLE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL DOMINATE
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IN THE SHORT TERM AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE
CONTINUES TO BUILD. THE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT...SUPPORTED BY
INCREASING WINDS IN THE UPPER LEVELS...HAS TIGHTENED ALONG THE
EASTERN SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN WASHINGTON CASCADES AND WILL CONTINUE
TO TIGHTEN THIS AFTERNOON ELSEWHERE RESULTING IN BREEZY TO LOCALLY
WINDY CONDITIONS...MAINLY IN THE NORTHERN PARTS OF OUR COUNTY
WARNING AREA. WILL MONITOR THE SITUATION FOR AREAS OF BLOWING DUST
AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES. THE GRADIENT IS EXPECTED TO SLACKEN LATE
TONIGHT WITH RESULTANT DECREASING WINDS OVERNIGHT. NO CHANGES ARE
EXPECTED IN EITHER THE EXTENDED OR ZONE FORECASTS AT THIS TIME.
FARMER

PDT 000  ALW 000  PSC 000  YKM 000

.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP32/CSR21...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, Kittitas Valley

When
May 19, 10:55 AM PST to 2:00 PM PST
Where
Kittitas Valley forecast zone
Measured
48 kt (55 mph)
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
46.791, -120.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High pressure building west of the Washington Cascades, combined with a cold front moving through the Columbia basin, brought high winds to the Kittitas Valley. The ASOS at the airport in Ellensburg measured sustained winds of over 40 mph for a couple of hours beginning around noon. At 12:15 pm, a large tent at the Ellensburg National Art Show and Auction was damaged, prompting a hasty evacuation. Shortly before 1 pm, wind gusts estimated between 50 and 60 mph toppled a tree onto some power lines along Kittitas Road just east of Ellensburg.

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, May 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: 5243254.