High Wind in Washington, March 20 to 21, 2002

Name: High Wind in Washington, March 20 to 21, 2002
Start: 2002-03-20T19:00
End: 2002-03-21T07:00
Location: Washington

March 20 to 21, 2002 · NWS SEW · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Strong easterly wind gusting to 58 mph was recorded in North Bend, Clallam Bay and Tattoosh Island.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 SEW wrote it up.

Strong easterly wind gusting to 58 mph was recorded in North Bend, Clallam Bay and Tattoosh Island.

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 Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 20, 2:20 PM PST, 4 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 2:20 PM PST, 4 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
220 PM PST WED MAR 20 2002

.SYNOPSIS...COLD NORTHEAST FLOW WILL BE OVERRUN BY WARMER SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT TO GIVE OCCASIONAL SNOW TO THE INTERIOR TONIGHT AND EARLY
THURSDAY. VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT AROUND
BELLINGHAM AND WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE CASCADE FOOTHILLS. CONDITIONS
WILL GRADUALLY MODERATE THURSDAY. THEN AN OFFSHORE UPPER LOW WILL
KICK INLAND FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY BRINGING SHOWERS AND MORE
SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES.

.DISCUSSION...CHALLENGING SHORT TERM TODAY AS STRONG MODIFIED ARCTIC
OUTFLOW CONTINUES OUT THE FRASER WITH STG ELY FLOW THRU THE STRAIT
AND STG NLY FLOW THRU PGTSND. WEDGE OF COLD AIR BEING OVERRUN BY H85
SW FLOW AS IT COMES NWD AROUND OFFSHORE FRONT THEN SHUNTED INLAND IN
DEFORMATION ZONE ACROSS CENTRAL WA. THERMAL GRADIENTS AT 1PM INTENSE
WITH LOWER TO MID 30S INTR AND N COAST AND MID/UPPER 50S S WA COAST.
FIRST SHOT OF MSTR THAT BROUGHT SOME SN TO MUCH OF THE AREA LAST
NIGHT AND THIS MRNG E...BUT SOME OVERRUNNING CONTG. MODELS APPEAR TOO
QUICK TO ERODE COLD WEDGE WITH ELY FLOW OFF CASCDS AND TO DRY
BOUNDARY LAYER. HENCE WILL CONT LOW END SNOW ADV N INTR AND ISSUE ONE
FOR THE SEATTLE ZONE FOR MAINLY HIGHER HILLS AND GRASS. NEXT PROBLEM
TONIGHT IS POSSIBILITY OF MTN WAVE ACTIVITY W SLOPES CASCDS LATE
TONIGHT AND WITH DVLPG E FLOW OVER CASCD CREST...INVERSION
10KFT...AND FLOW REVERSAL JUST ABOVE THE CREST. WILL ISSUE HIGH WIND
WATCH FOR THE W SLOPES CASCDS AND FOOTHILLS. OFFSHORE FLOW WILL GIVE
GRDL IMPROVEMENT THU WITH LINGERING SHOT OF FREEZING OR FROZEN PCPN W
WHATCOM CO UNTIL OUTFLOW STOPS FRI.

SAT-SUN LOOK MILDER WITH SHOWERS AS OFFSHORE UPR LOW LIFTS NE AND
OFSHR BLOCK BREAKS DOWN.

.EXTENDED...MRF GENERALLY CONSISTENT AND ACCEPTED. DRY MON/TUE WITH
APCH OF NEXT FRONT ON N CST WED.

UIL 7767 SEA 8654 OLM 8654 ALBRECHT

.SEW...SNOW ADVISORY INTR THRU TNGHT TACOMA-SHELTON NWD AND OLYMPICS.
      .HIGH WIND WATCH W SLOPES CNTRL CASCDS AND FOOTHILLS LATE TNGHT
       AND EARLY THU
    ...STORM WRNG N COAST AND W ENTRANCE STRAIT.
    ...GALE WARNING RMNDR STRAIT...N INLAND.
    ...SMALL CRAFT ADV ADMIRALTY INLET/PGTSND HOOD CANAL...COAST.

.KATX...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 20, 2:16 PM PST, 4 hours 44 minutes before

WAC033-210116-

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
216 PM PST WED MAR 20 2002

TIME(PST)  CITY LOCATION           STATE   EVENT/SPOTTER/REMARKS
           COUNTY LOCATION

216 PM     ISSAQUAH                   WA   SNOW
03/20/02   KING                            KING 20
                                           1.5 INCHES OF SNOW IN 45
                                           MINUTES, STILL SNOWING.

Local storm report, Mar 20, 6:25 PM PST, 35 minutes before

WAC073-210525-

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
625 PM PST WED MAR 20 2002

TIME(PST)  CITY LOCATION           STATE   EVENT/SPOTTER/REMARKS
           COUNTY LOCATION

530 PM     LYNDEN                     WA   HIGH WIND
03/20/02   WHATCOM                         WHATCOM 35
                                           WIND ESTIMATED AT 40 MPH,
                                           GUSTING 45.  A HAND HELD
                                           ANEMOMETER WAS USED.

Local storm report, Mar 20, 6:48 PM PST, 12 minutes before

WAC009-210548-

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
648 PM PST WED MAR 20 2002

TIME(PST)  CITY LOCATION           STATE   EVENT/SPOTTER/REMARKS
           COUNTY LOCATION

647 PM     CLALLAM BAY                WA   HIGH WIND
03/20/02   CLALLAM                         CLALLAM 40
                                           WIND ESTIMATED AT 40 MPH,
                                           GUSTING >50.  28 DEGREES
                                           WITH BLOWING SNOW.

Local storm report, Mar 20, 6:48 PM PST, 12 minutes before

WAC009-210548-

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
648 PM PST WED MAR 20 2002

TIME(PST)  CITY LOCATION           STATE   EVENT/SPOTTER/REMARKS
           COUNTY LOCATION

647 PM     CLALLAM BAY                WA   HIGH WIND
03/20/02   CLALLAM                         CLALLAM 40
                                           WIND ESTIMATED AT 40 MPH,
                                           GUSTING >50.  LARGE BROKEN
                                           TREE LIMBS.  28 DEGREES WITH
                                           BLOWING SNOW.

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central Casade Foothills

When: March 20, 7:00 PM PST to March 21, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Central Casade Foothills forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Western Strait of Juan de Fuca

When: March 20, 7:00 PM PST to March 21, 7:00 AM PST
Where: Western Strait of Juan de Fuca forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, North Coast

When: March 20, 7:00 PM PST to March 21, 7:00 AM PST
Where: North Coast forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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 Washington in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, March 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: 5280490, 5280491, 5280492.