Strong winds knocked out power to about 300,000 customers throughout western Washington. One man died while kite surfing during the windstorm.
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.
The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.
Strong winds knocked out power to about 300,000 customers throughout western Washington. One man died while kite surfing during the windstorm. A woman was injured after being struck by a fallen tree. Several homes were damaged by falling trees.
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 Oct 18, 8:30 AM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA 930 AM PDT THU OCT 18 2007 .SYNOPSIS...A STRONG SURFACE LOW DEVELOPING OFFSHORE WILL HEAD TOWARD THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON WITH VERY WINDY CONDITIONS ALONG THE COAST AND NORTH INTERIOR...AND WINDY CONDITIONS ELSEWHERE. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ONSHORE FRIDAY FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN AND AUTUMN BREEZES. AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE LATER HALF OF THE WEEKEND WITH THE BEST CHANCE OF RAIN ACROSS THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE. && .SHORT TERM...PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM IS STILL LOCATED OFFSHORE THIS MORNING WITH THE CENTER OF THE STORM ABOUT 150 MILES FROM THE WASHINGTON COAST. IR AND WV IMAGERY NOT TOO IMPRESSIVE WITH NO DISTINGUISHABLE OCCLUSION OR HOOK IN THE CLOUD FIELD...PERHAPS SINCE THE CLOUDS ARE LOWER AND WARMER. AS FOR THE VISIBLE...WE ARE JUST STARTING TO SEE SOME OF THE FIRST IMAGES AND APPEARS TO BE FURTHER SOUTH THAN THE MODEL FORECAST TRACK. MODEL CONSENSUS SHOWED THE CENTER OF THE STORM MOVING NORTH INTO VANCOUVER ISLAND AS IT INTENSIFIES. EITHER WAY...STILL EXPECTING STRONG WINDS ACROSS THE AREA AND WILL KEEP THE HEADLINES INTACT. COASTAL OBS SHOW WINDS GUSTING OUT OF THE EAST TO 30KTS AT KHQM...WITH TATOOSH UP TO 50KTS. WINDS GUSTING OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE NORTH INTERIOR AS WELL. AS THIS SYSTEM MOVES ONSHORE DURING THE AFTERNOON...WILL SEE WINDS SWITCH TO THE WEST ALONG THE COAST AND STRAIGHT. THE INTERIOR WILL SEE THE STRONGEST WINDS DURING THE MID AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING WITH SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS 40 TO 50 MPH. ASIDE FROM STRONG WINDS IN THE STRAIT...WILL SEE WINDS DIMINISH ACROSS THE AREA THIS EVENING...03-06Z...AS THE LOW EXITS THE REGION. THIS SYSTEM IS ALSO BRINGING PRETTY GOOD PRECIP TO THE AREA WITH RAIN...MODERATE AT TIMES...SWITCHING TO SHOWERS DURING THE AFTERNOON. LIGHT SNOW IS FALLING AT KSMP IN THE CASCADES WITH SNOW LEVELS DOWN TO AT LEAST 4000 FT. WILL SEE A FEW INCHES ACROSS THE CREST BUT PASS TEMPS LOOK TOO WARM FOR SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION. ANOTHER SYSTEM FURTHER OFFSHORE WILL QUICKLY MOVE IN FROM BEHIND WITH SURFACE TROUGH SETTING UP ALONG THE WASHINGTON AND OREGON BORDER BY 12Z FRIDAY...WITH RAIN AND SHOWERS CONTINUING. WINDS DURING THE AFTERNOON WILL BE BREEZY OUT OF THE SW BUT NOT AS STRONG AS THEY WILL BE TODAY. WET WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH NEAR THE QUEEN CHARLOTTES SHIFTS INLAND WITH THE TROUGH AXIS MOVING OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON. WITH THE COOLER AIR ALOFT TEMPERATURES WILL STILL BE BELOW NORMAL WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS IN THE LOW TO MID 50S. 33 .LONG TERM...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...SOME CHANGES IN THE EXTENDED MODELS THIS MORNING WITH THE EURO AND GFS NOW INDICATING SOME RIDGING BEGINNING ON SUNDAY. THE RACE WILL BE ON TO SEE IF THE RIDGE WILL BUILD UP ENOUGH TO PUSH THE NEXT WARM FRONT NORTH OF THE STATE. FOR NOW WILL LEAVE CHANCE POPS IN THE FORECAST. RIDGE CONTINUES TO BUILD IN THE MODELS FOR THE FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK BUT MODELS ALSO SHOWING FRONTS MOVING INLAND JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE AREA. FOR NOW WILL STAY WITH THE CHANCE POPS IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD. IF MORE RUNS CONTINUE WITH THE STRONGER RIDGE LOOK FOR THE EXTENDED FORECAST FOR THE MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK TO DRY OUT. FELTON && .AVIATION...RAIN HAS SPREAD OVER ENTIRE CWA WITH CEILINGS MAINLY 3K-4K FT. LOWER CEILINGS...2K FT WITH LOCAL VISIBILITY RESTRICTIONS 3-5SM -RA BR...IN SOUTHWEST AND THESE SHOULD SPREAD OVER ENTIRE AREA BY 20Z AS WELL. MAIN STORY IS WINDS. STRONG WINDS NOW ON THE COAST SHOULD SPREAD TO NORTHWEST INTERIOR THIS AFTERNOON. ALSO EXPECTING WINDY CONDITIONS IN PUGET SOUND METRO AREA BUT NOT HIGH WIND. WIND AT KSEA LIGHT NE THIS MORNING...THEN AFTER 19Z TURNING SE AND RISING TO 15G25KT...AND WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE AROUND 00Z SW 20G30 KT. CHB && .MARINE...NOT MUCH CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS IDEAS. WINDS ON COAST TURNING TO SE AND INCREASING BEYOND 40 KT...STORM FORCE STILL SEEMS OK. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS HIT COAST AROUND 22Z AND GET INLAND 00Z. COULD BE STORM FORCE WESTERLIES ON COAST TOO BUT FOR NOW KEEPING IT HIGH END GALE. WESTERLY GALE WINDS DOWN STRAIT COULD BRIEFLY HIT STORM FORCE AT THE EAST ENTRANCE. NO CHANGES TO FORECAST. SURFACE LOW SEEMS ON TRACK. CHB && .SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... .HIGH WIND WARNING COAST AND NORTH INTERIOR. .WIND ADVISORY FOR REST OF INTERIOR AND STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA. .STORM WARNING COASTAL WATERS. .GALE WARNING ALL OTHER WATERS. .SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH GRAYS HARBOR BAR. .HEAVY SURF ADVISORY COASTAL ZONES. WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE
6 high wind, 5 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Power outages forced a school to close near Lake Quinault.
A sailboat was severely damaged off Key Peninsula, when it's anchor supports were ripped out.
Hood canal bridge was closed for 3 hours in the late afternoon. A power line fell on a bus near Port Gamble.
Power was lost at the Olympia airport for 2 hours. A home in Olympia was damaged by a fallen tree.
Power was out at the ferry terminal for about an hour, delaying runs.
In Maple Valley, a power line fell on a bus. No one was injured.
A tree fell on a home in Snohomish. 85,000 Snohomish PUD customers were without power. Downed trees and power lines blocked roads on Camano Island.
A man died while kite surfing on lake Washington. A woman was injured in Kent when part of a tree fell on her. Ferry runs were halted for a time. On Bainbridge Island, downed trees and power lines blocked roads. Near Bonney Lake, a tree fell at an auto repair shop, damaging 5 vehicles.
On Whidbey Island trees and power lines were downed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, Seattle/Bremerton Area | 2007-10-18 | 44 | Male | In Water | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, October 2007
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: 62927, 62928, 62930, 62139, 62150, 62151, 62152, 62153, 62858, 110917, 62929.