High Wind in Oregon, December 15 to 16, 2002

Name: High Wind in Oregon, December 15 to 16, 2002
Start: 2002-12-15T12:00
End: 2002-12-16T02:00
Location: Oregon

December 15 to 16, 2002 · NWS PQR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

Winds associated with a strong cold front pounded the North and Central Oregon Coast as well as the Coastal Mountain Range. Cannon Beach reported gusts to 66 mph, while in the Coastal Mountains, Wilkerson reported gusts to 62 mph and Cannibal Mountain gusts to 57 mph. Rains associated with the frontal system caused a slide 8 miles South of Yachats that blocked Highway 101 for a short period.

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 15, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 AM PST SUN DEC 15 2002

.SYNOPSIS...ANOTHER VERY STRONG SYSTEM WILL RAPIDLY DEEPEN TODAY
AS IT SWINGS NORTH...JUST NORTH OF VANCOUVER ISLAND. THE VERY STRONG
FRONT WILL COME ONSHORE EARLY TONIGHT...WITH VERY STRONG DAMAGING
WINDS LIKELY NEAR THE COAST. THE NEXT SYSTEM CURRENTLY HEADS SOUTH OF
OUR FORECAST AREA FOR LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY...THOUGH POTENTIAL
STILL EXISTS FOR DEEPENING AND FARTHER NORTH MOVEMENT. COOL SHOWERY
WEATHER WITH LOWERING SNOW LEVELS IS EXPECTED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.
NEXT SYSTEM APPROACHES THURSDAY THEN LINGERS AND DRIFTS SOUTH.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...SATELLITE BOTH IR AND WATER VAPOR CONFIRM STRONG RAPID
CYCLOGENESIS OCCURRING WITH SYSTEM OUT NEAR 45N 133W. MODELS HAVE
CONVERGED ON TRACK NORTHEAST THROUGH 50N 130W AND JUST NORTH OF
VANCOUVER ISLAND EARLY TONIGHT. GFS DROPS CENTRAL PRESSURE BELOW 960
MB. BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT ARE ABOUT 60 KT ON BOTH
THE GFS AND MESO ETA...WITH 950 MB WINDS AROUND 90 KT ON THE MESO.
WILL UP THE HIGH WIND WARNING AT THE COAST TO INCLUDE 90 MPH
GUSTS...WITH 60 TO 70 MPH COASTAL COMMUNITIES. GFS A BIT FASTER WITH
LANDFALL OF FRONT THAN ETA...WILL HEDGE IN BETWEEN AROUND 06Z.

INLAND WINDS WILL INCREASE THIS EVENING AS THE EASTERLY GRADIENT
GAINS A BIT OF SOUTHERLY COMPONENT...THOUGH TRACK WILL KEEP BEST
WINDS AWAY. 950 MB MESO WINDS SUGGEST GUSTS COULD REACH 45 MPH IN THE
VALLEYS.

MODELS ARE TAKING NEXT SYSTEM FOR MONDAY SOUTH...WHICH PUTS ANY
STRONG WINDS TO OUR SOUTH. POSITION OF THIS SYSTEM STILL PUTS IT IN
A PLACE WHERE IF IT DEVELOPS MORE THAN FORECAST...IT COULD RECURVE
NORTH THROUGH OUR FORECAST AREA LIKE THE SYSTEM THAT SWEPT
THROUGH EUGENE IN FEBRUARY EARLIER THIS YEAR. THIS STILL BEARS
WATCHING.

COOLER AIR SPREADS IN BEHIND THESE SYSTEMS MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY
AND WILL LIKELY GET SOME SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS.

WILL STAY WITH STORM WARNING AND HIGH SURF ADVISORY COAST.

.LONG TERM...MODELS BRING THE NEXT SYSTEM JUST OFFSHORE ON THURSDAY
AND THEN SLOWLY MOVE IT SOUTH OF THE AREA AND THEN INLAND OVER
CALIFORNIA ON SATURDAY. WILL KEEP THE CURRENT UNSETTLED SHOWERY
CONDITIONS THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD. TOLLESON

AST ++988  PDX ++988  SLE ++988  EUG ++988

.PQR...HIGH WIND WARNING...TODAY THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT FOR THE NORTH
        AND CENTRAL OREGON COAST RANGE...AND FOR THE NORTH AND
        CENTRAL OREGON COAST AND THE SOUTH WASHINGTON COAST.
      .STORM WARNING TODAY AND TONIGHT...CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.
      .HIGH SURF ADVISORY...CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 6:30 AM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-161430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
630 AM PST SUN DEC 15 2002

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

.DAY ONE...

HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL
OREGON COAST...AND THE NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COAST RANGES TODAY
AND EARLY TONIGHT.

STORM WARNING FOR CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE TODAY AND TONIGHT.

HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE TODAY THROUGH
MONDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SHOULD UNEXPECTED CONDITIONS ARISE SPOTTERS SHOULD CALL IN AS PER
THEIR SPOTTER CALL IN CRITERIA. REPORTS OF HIGH WIND GUSTS ARE
HELPFUL.

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Northern Oregon Coast

When: December 15, 12:00 PM PST to December 16, 2:00 AM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Reported by: COASTAL OBSERVING STATION

High Wind, Central Coast Range of W Oregon

When: December 15, 12:00 PM PST to December 16, 2:00 AM PST
Where: Central Coast Range of W Oregon forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph)
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE

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: 5325534, 5325535.