High Wind in Oregon, January 3 to 4, 2008

Name: High Wind in Oregon, January 3 to 4, 2008
Start: 2008-01-03T17:20
End: 2008-01-04T13:51
Location: Oregon

January 3 to 4, 2008 · NWS PDT · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1.7 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 PDT wrote it up.

A deep low pressure system produced damaging winds across northeast Oregon and extreme southeast Washington. Wind damage exceeded 1 million dollars Umatilla County, especially in the Milton-Freewater and Adams areas. There were high profile vehicles blown over, trees toppled, power outages, and roofs damaged. The screen for the drive-in theatre in Milton-Freewater was destroyed. Wind gusts in mph included LaGrande and 4 miles southeast of Imbler (61), 3 miles southeast of Enterprise (80), 3 miles east of Joseph (60), 10 miles south of Imnaha (63), Helix (73), Mission (58), John Day (71), 5 miles south southeast of Fox (68), Mitchell (66), 15 miles west of Heppner (70), Pilot Rock (58), 1 mile north northwest of Paulina (60), and Ukiah (62).

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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 3, 2:40 PM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 2:40 PM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
240 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008

CORRECTED HEADLINE SECTION AT BOTTOM

.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY. A BROAD UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OFF
THE EASTERN PACIFIC AND THE PACIFIC NW HAS SEVERAL EMBEDDED LOWS
ASSOCIATED WITH IT THAT WILL BRING PRECIPITATION AND WINDS ACROSS
THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE SHORT TERM.  CURRENTLY...A 977MB
SURFACE LOW JUST WEST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND WILL MOVE E-NE AND A
PACIFIC FRONT WILL BRING PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE AREA THIS
EVENING.  SURFACE GRADIENTS ARE VERY TIGHT DUE TO THIS APPROACHING
FRONT AND A SURFACE HIGH OVER THE LOWER TREASURE VALLEY.  WINDS HAVE
INCREASED OVER MOST OF EASTERN OREGON AND SE WASHINGTON...AND
SOUTHERLY WINDS HAVE WARMED TEMPERATURES SIGNIFICANTLY OVER MOST OF
THE AREA.  THIS HAS MADE FOR A CHALLENGING TEMPERATURE FORECAST...AS
TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL BE NEAR OR EVEN A LITTLE WARMER COMPARED
TO THE CURRENT TEMPERATURES FOR THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN...THE BLUE
MTN FOOTHILLS...AND SOME OF THE VALLEYS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN
OREGON.  WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE BLUE MTN
FOOTHILLS AND THE WALLOWA VALLEY...JUST SHY OF WIND ADVISORY
CRITERIA.  STRONG WINDS WILL RETURN TO THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY...SO
WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WARNING  BEGINNING AT 3 PM THROUGH 10 PM
FRIDAY EVENING.

COLD AIR REMAINS TRAPPED ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE WA
CASCADES AND THE KITTITAS VALLEY...SO PRECIPITATION TONIGHT WILL
INITIALLY START AS SNOW AND CHANGE TO RAIN AT ELEVATIONS BELOW 2000
FEET ON FRIDAY.  WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY SNOW ADVISORIES FOR
FRIDAY...ALTHOUGH LOCAL ACCUMULATIONS COULD BE NEAR 4-5 INCHES ALONG
THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON CASCADES.

WINDS WILL MEET ADVISORY CRITERIA OVER PORTIONS OF EASTERN OREGON
AND SE WASHINGTON ON FRIDAY...AND THERE IS A GOOD POTENTIAL FOR
DAMAGING WINDS IN THE WALLOWA VALLEY...THE BLUE MOUNTAIN
FOOTHILLS...THE JOHN DAY BASIN AND HIGHLANDS. WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND
WATCH FOR THESE AREAS.  BLOWING SNOW WILL BE LESS OF A CONCERN ON
FRIDAY...AS SNOW LEVELS INCREASE TO AROUND 5000 FEET AND SNOW WILL
PACK DOWN AS PRECIPITATION CHANGES OVER TO RAIN OR WET SNOW.

THE 959MB SURFACE LOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STRONG WINDS AND
WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE INTO BRITISH COLUMBIA FOLLOWED BY
A MOIST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT SATURDAY FOR CONTINUED SHOWERS AND
BREEZY/WINDY CONDITIONS.  85

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY...SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO AS LOW AS 500
FEET MSL SATURDAY NIGHT AND WILL NOT RISE MUCH SUNDAY.  A QUICK
MOVING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST
LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. THIS DISTURBANCE MAY BRING A BRIEF
PERIOD OF HEAVY SNOW...BUT AMOUNTS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO REACH
ADVISORY LEVELS.  80

.LONG TERM...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...THE EXTENDED FORECAST
PERIOD WILL REMAIN ACTIVE WITH SEVERAL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS AND
FRONTS MOVING ACROSS THE REGION. WILL INDICATE MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A
CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW EACH DAY. AT THIS POINT THURSDAY WILL BE THE
DAY WITH THE LOWEST PROBABILITY OF PRECIPITATION AS HIGH PRESSURE IS
STARTING TO BUILD ACROSS THE AREA. TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSE TO
NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD.  94

&&

.AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. FRONT
MOVING THROUGH THIS EVENING WILL KEEP CEILINGS AT 040-080 WITH
SCATTERED SHOWERS. A BREAK OVERNIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT WITH CEILINGS
RISING A BIT. NEXT STORM WILL BRING ANOTHER CHANCE OF RAIN ON FRIDAY
WITH LOWERING CEILINGS. LOWEST CEILINGS AND BEST CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION WILL BE AT YKM DLS. AS FOR WIND...SHOULD SEE
INCREASING SOUTHERLY WINDS OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS AS STRONG LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE REGION ON FRIDAY. STRONG GUSTY WINDS
LIKELY AT RDM PDT ALW PSC ON FRIDAY.  94

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  41  57  39  46 /  30  50  30  30
ALW  40  59  41  48 /  30  50  30  30
PSC  36  50  38  46 /  40  60  30  20
YKM  34  40  34  40 /  60  60  50  30
HRI  36  53  39  47 /  40  60  30  20
ELN  32  36  31  36 /  60  60  60  30
RDM  38  47  35  39 /  50  70  60  40
LGD  38  44  36  38 /  40  60  50  40
GCD  35  45  34  37 /  40  70  60  40
DLS  35  43  38  45 /  60  60  50  30

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WATCH FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING FOR
     ORZ050-501-505-506.

     HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PST FRIDAY FOR ORZ049.

     WIND ADVISORY FROM 8 AM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH 10 PM PST FRIDAY
     EVENING FOR ORZ043-504.

WA...HIGH WIND WATCH FROM FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING FOR
     WAZ029.

&&

TI:RGG
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
85/94/94

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 2:58 PM PST, 2 hours 22 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
258 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008

UPDATED FOR WIND INFORMATION TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY

ORZ041>044-049-050-501>506-WAZ024-026>030-501-502-041415-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF OREGON-NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-
CENTRAL OREGON-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON-GRANDE RONDE VALLEY-
WALLOWA COUNTY-FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
SOUTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
NORTHERN WHEELER AND SOUTHERN GILLIAM COUNTIES-JOHN DAY BASIN-
OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF WASHINGTON-KITTITAS VALLEY-
YAKIMA VALLEY-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF WASHINGTON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON-
NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS-
EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
258 PM PST THU JAN 3 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...REST OF TODAY AND TONIGHT

STRONG WIND
     GRANDE RONDE VALLEY

WINDS WILL INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE
GRANDE RONDE VALLEY THIS EVENING...AND THE WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN
UPGRADED TO A HIGH WIND WARNING THAT IS IN EFFECT THROUGH 10 PM
PST FRIDAY EVENING. FOR DETAILS...PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST
PRODUCT...PDXNPWPDT. NEAR LADD AND PYLES CANYONS...SOUTH WINDS OF
35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH ARE EXPECTED. BREEZY TO WINDY
CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT OVER MOST OF CENTRAL AND
NORTHEAST OREGON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

A PACIFIC FRONT WILL BRING WIDESPREAD RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW
TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION WILL INTI TALLY START AS SNOW ALONG THE EAST
SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES AND THE KITTITAS
VALLEY...AND SNOW LEVELS WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 2000 FEET BY
EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 4 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE
ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON CASCADES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

STRONG WIND FRIDAY
     FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON, CENTRAL OREGON,
     GRANDE RONDE VALLEY, WALLOWA COUNTY, FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
     MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, NORTHERN WHEELER AND SOUTHERN GILLIAM
     COUNTIES, JOHN DAY BASIN, OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL OREGON AND SOUTHERN
GILLIAM AND NORTHERN WHEELER COUNTIES FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH
FRIDAY EVENING. A HIGH WIND WATCH HAS BEEN POSTED FOR WALLOWA
COUNTY...THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS...THE JOHN DAY BASIN
AND OCHOCO HIGHLANDS FOR FRIDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING.
THE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY REMAINS IN
EFFECT THROUGH 10 PM PST FRIDAY EVENING. FOR DETAILS ON THE
UPCOMING WIND EVENT...PLEASE REFER TO THE PRODUCT PDXNPWPDT.

WINDY AND UNSETTLED CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF
NEXT WEEK.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING.

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

GRAPHICAL FORECASTS OF WEATHER HAZARDS OUT TO SEVEN DAYS
ARE DISPLAYED ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT:

WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/PDT/CURRENTHAZARDS/HWO.HTML

ALL LETTERS IN THE ABOVE URL ARE LOWER CASE...EXCEPT THE H IN
CURRENTHAZARDS.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Wallowa County

When: January 3, 5:20 PM PST to January 4, 1:51 PM PST
Where: Wallowa County forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 45.445, -117.595 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, John Day Basin

When: January 4, 7:10 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
Where: John Day Basin forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 44.885, -120.192 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ochoco-John Day Highlands

When: January 4, 7:14 AM PST to 11:30 AM PST
Where: Ochoco-John Day Highlands forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 44.381, -120.359 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Southern Blue Mountains

When: January 4, 7:50 AM PST to 11:00 AM PST
Where: Southern Blue Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Park/Forest Service
Coordinates: 45.153, -119.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Foothills of the Blue Mountains

When: January 4, 7:55 AM PST to 11:36 AM PST
Where: Foothills of the Blue Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 63 kt (72 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1.7 million
Reported by: Mesonet

High Wind, Grand Ronde Valley

When: January 4, 8:25 AM PST to 9:35 AM PST
Where: Grand Ronde Valley forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS
Coordinates: 45.310, -118.009 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Northern Blue Mountains

When: January 4, 8:30 AM PST to 10:00 AM PST
Where: Northern Blue Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 70 kt (81 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 45.494, -117.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, January 2008

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: 65739, 65741, 65742, 65744, 65740, 65738, 65743.