Winter Storm in Washington, October 22, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Washington, October 22, 2001
Start: 2001-10-22T05:00
End: 2001-10-22T21:00
Location: Washington

October 22, 2001 · NWS PQR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

High winds and rain knocked out power to nearly 900 users in Cowlitz County, and uprooted trees that blocked sections of the Ocean Beach Highway in Wahkiakum County. On Puget Island, in the Columbia River, wind blew a van off the road.

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 happened

The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.

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 Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 22, 2:00 AM PST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 22, 2:00 AM PST, 3 hours before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 AM PDT MON OCT 22 2001

.SYNOPSIS...VERY STRONG WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL SWEEP A STRONG
PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM ACROSS OUR AREA TODAY. HIGH WINDS WILL
ACCOMPANY THE FRONT ALONG THE COASTAL HEADLANDS. MID LEVEL FLOW WILL
BE FAVORABLE FOR SNOW IN THE CASCADES IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT FOR
THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF THE SEASON AT AND BELOW
PASS LEVELS. WARM ADVECTION WILL DEVELOP BY WEDNESDAY TO END THE SNOW
EVENT. A TEMPORARY UPPER RIDGE THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL PROVIDE A
BRIEF DRY PERIOD BEFORE A RETURN TO WET WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...THE LATEST RUN OF THE FAVORED AVN COMPUTER MODEL
CONTINUES TO SHOW A 150 KT JET ASSOCIATED WITH MONDAYS FRONTAL
SYSTEM. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THAT HIGH CLOUDS HAVE RACED INLAND
AHEAD OF THE WARM FRONT...WITH THE MAIN CLOUDS AND PRECIPITATION
ASSOCIATED WITH THE WARM FRONT JUST OFF THE WASHINGTON COAST AT 09Z.
THE COLD FRONT SHOULD REACH THE COAST ABOUT 18Z...AND RACE TO THE
CASCADES ABOUT 21Z. STRONG 850 MB WINDS ACCOMPANY THE FRONT AND WILL
UPGRADE HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE COASTAL HEADLANDS TO A WARNING.
STRONG GUSTS...POSSIBLY TO 40 MPH...WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT AS IT
MOVES INLAND AND WILL COVER THIS IN A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT. GOOD
POST FRONTAL OROGRAPHIC WINDS FOR THE CASCADES...UP TO 50 KT AT 850
MB...SHOULD RESULT IN 6 TO 10 INCH ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT AND TUESDAY
AT AND BELOW PASS LEVELS. WILL COVER THIS IN A SPECIAL WEATHER
STATEMENT FOR NOW. BY TUESDAY NIGHT A WARM ADVECTION PATTERN SHOULD
DEVELOP TO END THE SNOW EVENT. THE LONG FETCH AND HIGH WINDS WITH
THIS STORM WILL RESULT IN SEAS NEAR 30 FEET BY TUESDAY MORNING. THIS
IS ALSO COVERED IN THE SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT.

.LONG TERM...MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH A ANOTHER SYSTEM BRUSHING
NW OREGON WEDNESDAY WITH WARM ADVECTION RAIN...FOLLOWED BY A CHANCE
OF SHOWERS EARLY THURSDAY. THEN A TEMPORARY RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE
PACIFIC NW THURSDAY AND FRIDAY FOR A BRIEF DRY PERIOD. ZONAL FLOW
WILL RETURN FOR A WET WEEKEND.                                   BOHL

AST ++858  PDX ++747  SLE ++746  EUG ++635

.PQR...GALE WARNING...CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.
       HIGH WIND WARNING...SOUTH WASHINGTON...NORTH AND CENTRAL
 OREGON COASTS MONDAY AFTERNOON

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Oct 22, 4:15 AM PST, 45 minutes before

ORZ006-007-011-013-WAZ019-039-231900-

WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
515 AM PDT MON OCT 22 2001

...A STRONG WINTER WEATHER SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OVER SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY...

A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO AFFECT SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY.
THIS WILL BRING WINDY AND WET CONDITIONS TO THE AREA MONDAY
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. BEHIND THE COLD FRONT SNOW LEVELS WILL
LOWER BELOW CASCADE PASS ELEVATIONS OVERNIGHT WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOW
ACCUMULATING. THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL ALSO LIKELY BRING HEAVY SURF
CONDITIONS TO THE COAST BY TUESDAY MORNING.

STRONG WIND GUSTS WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE
WILLAMETTE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON...WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH POSSIBLE.

SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO BETWEEN 3500 AND 4000 FEET BY TUESDAY
MORNING IN THE CASCADES...BELOW THE ELEVATIONS OF THE MAJOR PASSES.
ACCUMULATING SNOW IS EXPECTED...WITH SNOW AMOUNTS POSSIBLY REACHING
6 TO 10 INCHES IN THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH OREGON CASCADES
THROUGH NOON TUESDAY...WITH THE HIGHER AMOUNTS EXPECTED IN THE NORTH.

THIS STORM HAS GENERATED HEAVY SWELL EXPECTED TO REACH THE COAST
TUESDAY MORNING. WAVE MODELS INDICATE THAT SWELL ALONG THE COAST
WILL BUILD TO NEAR 30 FT TUESDAY MORNING...RESULTING IN HEAVY SURF
CONDITIONS AND POSSIBLE BEACH EROSION.

BE SURE TO LISTEN TO THE LATEST FORECASTS...STATEMENTS...AND ANY NEW
OR ADDITIONAL ADVISORIES OR WARNINGS FOR THIS STORM.

BOHL

Event by event

1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Lower Columbia

When: October 22, 5:00 AM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: Lower Columbia forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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, 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: 5271292.