Name: High Wind in Washington, December 14, 2002
Start: 2002-12-14T09:00
End: 2002-12-14T17:00
Location: Washington

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
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 Dec 14, 8:40 AM PST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 8:40 AM PST, 20 minutes before

NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
840 AM PST SAT DEC 14 2002

HAVE EXPANDED HIGH WIND WARNING TO INCLUDE ALL SOUTHERN ZONES. THIS
IN RESPONSE TO INCREASED LOW LEVEL WINDS AT 850 AND 700MB AS FRONT
APPROACHES. MEDFORD SOUNDING SHOWS THE LOW LEVEL WINDS WELL ALONG
WITH KPDT VAD WIND PROFILE. EXPECT WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH WITH HIGHER
GUSTS TO LAST THROUGH THE DAY THEN DECREASE EARLY TONIGHT AS LOW
LEVEL WIND DECREASE. ALREADY RECEIVING NUMEROUS SPOTTER REPORTS OF
STRONG WINDS AND SOME MINOR DAMAGE TO ROOFS. NORTHERN ZONES WILL NOT
SEE AS MUCH WIND AS GRADIENTS FAVOR MORE OF AN UPSLOPE RAIN EVENT
AND A STABLER AIR MASS. NOT HAD MUCH TIME TO LOOK BEYOND TODAY IN
THE MODELS SO WILL WAIT UNTIL AFTERNOON ISSUANCE TO DISCUSS NEXT
COUPLE OF DAYS. SOLOMON

PDT 875  ALW 875  PSC 974  YKM 976

.KPDT...HIGH WIND WARNINGS TODAY FOR FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
MOUNTAINS...BLUE MOUNTAINS...GRANDE RONDE VALLEY...WALLOWA
COUNTY...JOHN DAY BASIN...JOHN DAY OCHOCO HIGHLANDS...DESCHUTES
COUNTY AND NORTH CENTRAL OREGON.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 14, 5:00 AM PST, 4 hours before

ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-151300-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
500 AM PST SAT DEC 14 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON

.DAY ONE... TODAY

A HIGH WIND WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS...
FOOTHILLS...AND GRAND RONDE VALLEY THIS MORNING. WINDS WILL INCREASE
TO 30 TO 40 MPH AS A DISTURBANCE PASSES OVER THE AREA. STRONG LOW
LEVEL WINDS WILL MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE. IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS THE
HIGHEST WINDS WILL BE ALONG RIDGE TOPS. IN THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY
THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE NEAR LADD AND PYLES CANYONS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

A SERIES OF WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION KEEPING
WEATHER UNSETTLED.  STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP OVER THE AREA  SUNDAY
NIGHT AND MONDAY AS ANOTHER STRONG DISTURBANCE MOVES THROUGH. SNOW
LEVELS WILL FALL BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...INCREASING THE POTENTIAL FOR
SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

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: December 14, 9:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Blue Mountain Foothills forecast zone
Measured: 44 kt (51 mph)
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.264, -118.193 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A peak wind gust to 51 MPH and a record high of 66 degrees was recorded at the Walla Walla Airport. A few trees were knocked down throughout the area. A falling maple tree knocked down some power lines and came within inches of hitting a new truck. Two power poles had to be repaired after knocking out power to 40 homes.

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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, 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: 5325365.