High Wind in Oregon, January 22 to 23, 2003

Name: High Wind in Oregon, January 22 to 23, 2003
Start: 2003-01-22T02:00
End: 2003-01-23T12:00
Location: Oregon

January 22 to 23, 2003 · NWS PQR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Sunset Beach near Seaside and Sea Lion Caves reported gusts to 60 mph. Florence reported gusts to 58 mph, Garibaldi gusts to 47 mph and Newport Jetty gusts to 44 mph.

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.

Sunset Beach near Seaside and Sea Lion Caves reported gusts to 60 mph. Florence reported gusts to 58 mph, Garibaldi gusts to 47 mph and Newport Jetty gusts to 44 mph.

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 Jan 21, 8:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 21, 8:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 PM PST TUE JAN 21 2003

.SYNOPSIS...A MUCH STRONGER WARM FRONT WILL INCREASE RAIN LATE
TONIGHT...WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE STRONG TRAILING COLD
FRONT PORTION OF THIS WEATHER SYSTEM MAY BRING HIGH WINDS TO THE
COAST WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE FORECAST AREA WILL BE
BETWEEN SYSTEMS THURSDAY WITH A CHANCE OF LINGERING POST FRONTAL
SHOWERS. ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING MORE RAIN FRIDAY. A PARADE
OF WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL CONTINUE THE OCCASIONAL RAIN INTO EARLY NEXT
WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM....WATER VAPOR IMAGE INDICATES SURFACE LOW DEVELOPMENT
TAKING PLACE WITH AS THE NEXT SYSTEM MOVES TOWARDS THE PAC NW.  WARM
FRONTAL PRECIP OUT AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT SHOULD DEVELOP LATER
TONIGHT INTO WED.  RAIN WILL INTENSIFY WED NIGHT AS THE MAIN COLD
FRONT SWINGS THROUGH BUT FLOODING NOT A CONCERN.

TWO BURSTS OF STRONG WINDS EXPECTED FOR POSSIBLE HIGH WIND CRITERIA.
THE FIRST BURST OF WIND POSSIBLE WED AFTERNOON AS GRADIENTS INCREASE
BEHIND THE WARM FRONT LIFTING N OF AREA.  SURFACE WINDS ARE INITIALLY
SE BUT TURN MORE S BY LATE IN THE DAY WHICH WOULD BE A MORE FAVORABLE
DIRECTION.  STRONG 60 KT LOW LEVEL JET ALSO INDICATED FOR SURFACE
GUSTS TO AROUND 65 MPH.  EVEN BETTER CHANCE FOR HIGH WINDS WED NIGHT
AS THE COLD FRONT SWINGS IN WITH THE SURFACE LOW TRACKING NE INTO
VANCOUVER ISLAND. AROUND 13 MB OF S GRADIENT ACROSS THE OREGON COAST
WITH STRONGEST GRADIENT MAGNITUDE ACROSS FAR S WA AND N OREGON. LOW
LEVEL JET EVIDENT BUT DOES WEAKEN SOMEWHAT AS IT PUSHES INLAND.
SHOULD SEE SOME GUSTY WINDS INLAND OVER THE N IF AVN IS CORRECT BUT
HIGH WIND CRITERIA NOT EXPECTED. GENERAL TRACK AND DEPTH OF LOW STILL
SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN SO WILL LEAVE A WATCH BUT FRESHEN UP THE
STATEMENT.  NEXT SHIFT WILL LIKELY NEED TO UPGRADE TO A WARNING FOR
THE COAST IF MODELS PERSIST.

.LONG TERM...A WET PROGRESSIVE PATTERN CONTINUES WITH A PARADE OF
FRONTAL SYSTEMS ARRIVING ABOUT 24 HOURS APART.

MERCER

AST 899566  PDX 899566  SLE 899466  EUG 899466

.PQR...GALE WARNING...CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.
       HIGH WIND WATCH SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON
       COAST WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY EVENING.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 21, 6:00 AM PST, 20 hours before

ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-221400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
600 AM PST TUE JAN 21 2003

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

A SERIES OF INCREASINGLY WET AND WINDY SYSTEMS IS EXPECTED THIS
WEEK. A HIGH WIND WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY
NIGHT FOR SOUTH WINDS GUTING TO 65 MPH ESPECIALLY NEAR COASTAL
HEADLANDS AND BEACHES. GALE FORCE WINDS ARE LIKELY OVER THE COASTAL
WATERS BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO SKYWARN PROCEDURES.

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central Oregon Coast

When: January 22, 2:00 AM PST to January 23, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Northern Oregon Coast

When: January 22, 2:00 AM PST to January 23, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Coast forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, January 2003

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: 5339456, 5339457.