High Wind in Oregon, December 10, 2002

Name: High Wind in Oregon, December 10, 2002
Start: 2002-12-10T06:00
End: 2002-12-10T12:00
Location: Oregon

December 10, 2002 · NWS PQR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Passage of a strong Pacific cold front produced gusts to 53 mph at Gleneden Beach, and sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph at Newport Jetty.

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.

Passage of a strong Pacific cold front produced gusts to 53 mph at Gleneden Beach, and sustained winds of 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph at Newport Jetty.

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 Dec 10, 2:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 10, 2:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
230 AM PST TUE DEC 10 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A FAST MOVING PAC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA TODAY...WITH LOWERING SNOW LEVELS IN THE CASCADES. A
WARM FRONT IS EXPECTED TO BRUSH THE AREA WED...FOLLOWED BY A STRONG
COLD FRONT THU...AHEAD OF THAT FRONT WINDS GUSTS MAY REACH 60 TO 70
MPH ALONG THE COAST LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. ADDITIONAL
STRONG SYSTEMS WILL AFFECT THE REGION FRI THROUGH MON FOR WET AND
WINDY CONDITIONS AT TIMES.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...A FAST MOVING PAC COLD FRONT WAS ALREADY NEARING THE
CASCADES THIS MORNING AND AN INSTANT OCCLUSION WAS NEAR 130W AT 2
AM...BOTH A FEW HOURS AHEAD OF THE MODEL POSITIONS. THE COLD FRONT IS
BRINGING MODERATE PRECIPITATION THIS MORNING AND THE OCCLUSION WILL
BRING ANOTHER GOOD SURGE OF PRECIPITATION THAT WILL BE ENHANCED BY
THE COAST RANGE AND THE CASCADES SO WILL STAY WITH A LOW END SNOW
ADVISORY TODAY...SHOWERS WILL DECREASE LATER TODAY.

NEXT FEATURE OF INTEREST IS A WARM FRONT WED LIFTING OVER TOP OF
WEAKLY BUILDING SHORT WAVE RIDGE INLAND OVER PAC NORTHWEST...WHILE A
STRONG COLD FRONT DEVELOPS OFFSHORE WITH INCREASINGLY STRONG
SOUTHEAST GRADIENTS OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. GALES LIKELY AGAIN WED
WITH WINDS AT THE COAST A LITTLE BELOW HIGH WIND CATEGORY. A STRONG
COLD FRONT WILL COME ONSHORE THU AND EXPECT THAT TO BE AHEAD OF MODEL
TIMING WITH STORM FORCE WINDS POSSIBLE OVER COASTAL WATERS LATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY AND HIGH WINDS MAY HIT THE COAST LATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND INTO THU...WILL REFRESH THE HIGH WIND OUTLOOK
CONCERNING THAT.

SEAS WILL BE INCREASING THROUGH THE WEEK...AND SHOULD EXCEED 20 FT BY
WED NIGHT.

.LONG TERM...A PROGRESSIVE WET AND WINDY PATTERN WILL CONTINUE INTO
THE EXTENDED PERIOD. WILLSON

AST +7879  PDX +6779  SLE +6669  EUG +6558

.PQR...GALE WARNING CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.
      .SNOW ADVISORY SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH OREGON CASCADES
        TODAY.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 9, 6:30 AM PST, 23 hours 30 minutes before

ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-101430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
630 AM PST MON DEC 9 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND
NORTHWEST OREGON.

.DAY ONE...

SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE CASCADES TODAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

GALE WARNING COASTAL WATERS TODAY AND WEDNESDAY AND STORM WINDS
EXPECTED LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...WITH GALE WINDS AGASIN
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. A HIGH WIND OUTLOOK WAS ISSUED AS A HIGH WIND
EVENT IS POSSIBLE ALONG THE COAST LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SHOULD UNEXPECTED CONDITIONS ARISE SPOTTERS SHOULD CALL IN AS PER
THEIR SPOTTER CALL IN CRITERIA.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Dec 10, 3:16 AM PST, 2 hours 44 minutes before

ORZ001-002-WAZ021-101800-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
316 AM PST TUE DEC 10 2002

...A HIGH WIND OUTLOOK IS IN EFFECT FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY
FOR THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COASTS...

A PARADE OF PACIFIC COLD FRONTS WILL BRING AN INCREASINGLY
WET...WINDY... AND STORMY WEATHER PATTERN THIS WEEK ALONG THE SOUTH
WASHINGTON COAST..AND THE NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COAST.

A STRONG COLD FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE CLOSE TO THE COAST LATE
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND INLAND THURSDAY. SOUTHERLY WINDS MAY EXCEED HIGH
WIND WARNING CRITERIA THEN... WITH SOUTHERLY WIND GUSTS 60 TO 70 MPH
POSSIBLE AT COASTAL HEADLANDS AND COASTAL COMMUNITIES THAT ARE NEAR
THE SHORE. ADDITIONAL STRONG WET AND WINDY WEATHER SYSTEMS ARE
POSSIBLE THIS WEEKEND.

LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR FAVORITE WEATHER NEWS SOURCE
FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON THE WEATHER THIS WEEK...AND POSSIBLY ANY
WATCHES OR WARNINGS SHOULD THEY BE ISSUED.

WILLSON

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central Oregon Coast

When: December 10, 6:00 AM PST to 12:00 PM PST
Where: Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: COASTAL OBSERVING STATION

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 Oregon in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, December 2002

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: 5325527.