Strong Wind in Washington, March 23, 2006

Name: Strong Wind in Washington, March 23, 2006
Start: 2006-03-23T16:00
End: 2006-03-23T17:00
Location: Washington

March 23, 2006 · NWS SEW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong winds knocked out power to about 3500 people in Lewis county. A tree fell on a car, damaging it.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
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 SEW wrote it up.

Strong winds knocked out power to about 3500 people in Lewis county. A tree fell on a car, damaging 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 Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 23, 3:03 PM PST, 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 23, 3:03 PM PST, 57 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
303 PM PST THU MAR 23 2006

.SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT OFF THE COAST WILL CONTINUE MOVING EAST
BEFORE DISSIPATING OVER THE INTERIOR OF WESTERN WASHINGTON FRIDAY
MORNING. THUS LOOK FOR THE PRECIPITATION ON THE COAST TO SPREAD EAST
OVERNIGHT...WITH SHOWERY WEATHER PREVAILING ON FRIDAY. A LARGE LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM OFFSHORE WILL THEN KEEP THE WEATHER PATTERN
UNSETTLED OVER THE AREA THROUGH THIS WEEKEND.

&&

.SHORT TERM...
THE CDFNT OFF THE COAST BEGAN TO MOVE EWD THIS AFTERNOON...AND WILL
MOVE ONSHORE LATER TONIGHT. THIS FRONT...HOWEVER...WILL DISSIPATE AS
IT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA FRI MORNING. THUS LOOK FOR THE PRECIP ON
THE COAST TO SPREAD EWD THIS EVENING. EXPECT SHOWERY WEATHER ON FRI
BEHIND THE FRONT.

MEANWHILE...A BROAD LOW PRES SYSTEM WILL REMAIN OFFSHORE THROUGH
MOST OF THE SHORT TERM PERIOD. SHORT WAVE TROFS ROTATING AROUND THE
MEAN UPPER LOW WILL KEEP THE SHOWER THREAT GOING THRU SUNDAY...
ALTHOUGH THE PRECIP WILL DIMINISH WITH TIME. A VIGOROUS SHORT WAVE
IS STILL EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO OREGON ON SAT...BUT NOW THE MODELS
TRACK THIS FEATURE FARTHER SWD. THEREFORE MOST OF THE DYNAMICS WILL
REMAIN S OF THE CWA. ON SUNDAY...HEIGHTS BEGIN TO BUILD OVER THE
AREA AS ANOTHER TROF DEEPENS OVER THE ERN PAC. THERE WILL BE
SUFFICIENT INSTABILITY THOUGH TO WARRANT A CONTINUED CHANCE OF
SHOWERS.

.LONG TERM...
OVERALL...CONFIDENCE IN THIS PERIOD WAS LOW IN REGARDS TO THE
DETAILS. HAVE MOSTLY FOLLOWED THE EUROPEAN SOLUTION AS THIS MODEL
HAS HAD A BETTER TRACK RECORD RECENTLY. FOR THE MOST PART...
ANTICIPATE A PROGRESSIVE FLOW PATTERN OVER THE PAC NW WITH A
TENDENCY FOR A MEAN UPPER TROF OFF THE COAST. AT THIS TIME...IT
APPEARS THAT TUE HAS THE BEST CHANCE FOR PRECIP DURING THIS PERIOD.

&&

.AVIATION...FRONT REMAINS JUST OFFSHORE BUT IS SLOWLY HEADING E.
CIGS WILL SLOWLY LOWER AS THE PRECIP MOVES INLAND OVERNIGHT. FRONT
SHLD REACH THE PUGET SND 10Z-12Z THEN MOVE E OF THE CASCDS AFT 15Z.
CIGS WILL IMPV SLGTY AFT THE FRONT PASSES AND AMS WILL BECM SLGTY
UNSTBL.
KSEA...CIGS ABV 6000 FT UNTIL AFT 06Z...THEN LOWERING TO 4000-5000
FT. SE WIND 5-10 KTS TONIGHT BECOMING SW 8-12 KT AFT THE FRONT
PASSES.  CERNIGLIA

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...GALE WARNING COAST AND W ENTRANCE
TO THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY E ENTRANCE TO
THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA...ADMIRALTY INLET...AND NRN INLAND
WATERS.

Event by event

1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Southwest Interior

When: March 23, 4:00 PM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Southwest Interior forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

What these are

Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, March 2006

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: 5494787.