Flood, Lower Columbia
- When
- January 31, 7:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
- Where
- Lower Columbia forecast zone
- Property damage
- $34,000
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Flood in Washington, January 31, 2003
The Lewis River near Woodland crested about 3 feet above flood stage, resulting in significant flooding. The airport and roads near the river were under water, and numerous homes and buildings suffered damages.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $34,000
- 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 happened
The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.
The Lewis River near Woodland crested about 3 feet above flood stage, resulting in significant flooding. The airport and roads near the river were under water, and numerous homes and buildings suffered damages. The Cowlitz River near Kelso crested 1.5 feet above flood stage. Five homes and personal property sustained damage estimated at $34,000.
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 31, 2:30 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 2:30 AM PST, 4 hours 30 minutes before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR 230 AM PST FRI JAN 31 2003 .SYNOPSIS...RAIN WILL INTENSIFY AGAIN TODAY AS A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT CREEPS INLAND. THE FRONT WILL MOSEY ACROSS AREA LATE TODAY AND SHOVE OVER THE CASCADES LATER THIS EVENING. SNOW WILL REMAIN ABOVE PASS LEVELS THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT...THEN SLOWLY TUMBLE LATE TONIGHT AND ESPECIALLY SAT. ANOTHER WEAK SYSTEM WILL AMBLE ACROSS THE REGION MON. THEN DRY WEATHER ARRIVES TUE AS A STRONG UPPER RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE AREA. .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...THE FRONTAL ZONE OVER THE NW CORNER OF OREGON NOW STARTING TO SAG SOUTH AND EAST...AND WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY PLOD ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AND THIS EVENING. RADAR SHOWS SIGNIFICANT RAIN CONTINUING OVER EXTREME NW OREGON AND INTO SW WASHINGTON. WILL CONTINUE TO WATCH RIVERS AS MANY ALONG THE N OREGON COAST WILL GET HIGH...POSSIBLE REACHING FLOOD STAGE LATER TODAY. A COUPLE OF WAVES ON THE FRONT WILL KEEP THE FRONT FROM PUSHING EAST TOO QUICK. RAIN TURNS TO SHOWERS TONIGHT...AND CONTINUE INTO SUN. LOTS OF COOLER AIR PUSHING INLAND LATER TONIGHT AND SAT AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES OVER THE REGION. SNOW LEVELS WILL LOWER TO 3000 FEET BY SATURDAY MORNING. HOWEVER...THE OROGRAPHIC FLOW WEAKENING AND IT APPEARS TO BE DIFFICULT TO REACH SNOW ADVISORY AMOUNTS OVER THE WEEKEND. .LONG TERM...NO CHANGES. STILL HAVE A DECENT SYSTEM PUSHING ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON AND NW OREGON MON. WILL KEEP RAIN IN FOR MON...BUT AFTERWARDS...IMPROVEMENT. HIGH PRES RIDGE BUILDS...WITH A DRY TREND FOR TUE THROUGH FRI. MAY HAVE TO WATCH FOR INCREASED EAST WINDS COME THU AS COLDER AIR SETTLES INTO THE UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN. AST ++874 PDX ++874 SLE ++874 EUG ++874 .PQR...GALE WARNING CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE. ROCKEY
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 6:30 AM PST, 30 minutes before
ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-011430-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
630 AM PST FRI JAN 31 2003
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON.
.DAY ONE... TODAY
* FLOOD WARNING FOR...
...WILSON RIVER IN TILLAMOOK COUNTY...
...NEHALEM RIVER IN CLATSOP AND TILLAMOOK COUNTIES...
SEE WGUS46 KPQR - PDXFLWPQR FOR DETAILS
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
A SLOW MOVING FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH HEAVY RAIN OVER
THE REGION...ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTH COASTAL BASINS AND THOSE
BASINS IN SOUTHWESTERN WASHINGTON. MORE FLOODING IS POSSIBLE AS THE
HEAVY RAINS CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO SKYWARN PROCEDURES.
FOR THE LATEST LOCAL WEATHER WARNINGS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON...
HTTP://WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/PORTLAND/WARNING/
(URL IS IN LOWERCASE LETTERS).Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Heavy Rain in Idaho, January 31, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, January 31, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 31, 2003
- High Wind in Kansas, January 31, 2003
- Flooding in Oregon, January 31, 2003
- Flooding in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Flood in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Flood in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Cold in Florida, January 31, 2003
- Cold in Alabama, January 31, 2003
- Flood in Idaho, January 31, 2003
More
Every storm in Washington in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, 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: 5339485.