A deep low offshore produced high winds to both coast zones. In the interior, strong wind was reported from Port Angeles to Whidbey Island.
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.
A deep low offshore produced high winds to both coast zones. In the interior, strong wind was reported from Port Angeles to Whidbey Island.
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 May 19, 2:00 PM PST, 4 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
300 PM PDT WED MAY 19 2010
.SYNOPSIS...A VIGOROUS LATE-SEASON FRONT IS MOVING INTO WESTERN
WASHINGTON THIS AFTERNOON AS A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES NORTH
THROUGH THE NEAR OFFSHORE WATERS. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL ACCOMPANY
THE RAIN THIS EVENING...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE COAST...AND RAIN WILL
TURN TO SHOWERS TONIGHT. AN UPPER TROUGH WILL MAINTAIN A COOL
SHOWERY PATTERN THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...A VIGOROUS LATE-SEASON PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM IS
MOVING INTO THE FORECAST AREA THIS AFTERNOON. THE DEEP SURFACE LOW
-- AROUND 983 MB -- WAS CENTERED NEAR 46N/127W AT 230 PM...WHICH IS
A BIT DEEPER AND SOUTHEAST OF MODEL FORECASTS. A 5340 METER UPPER
LOW IS JUST SOUTHWEST OF THE SURFACE LOW WITH A 140 KT JET FEEDING
INTO AND WRAPPING AROUND THE LOW. PRECIPITATION IS SPREADING
NORTHEAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA...STARTING AT SEATAC JUST BEFORE
2 PM...AND IT WILL REACH THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE FORECAST AREA
LATE THIS AFTERNOON.
THE SURFACE LOW HAS NOT CURLED NORTHWARD AS EARLY AS MODELS
PREDICTED. THAT MEANS IT WILL TRACK CLOSER TO THE COASTLINE THAN
PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT...PROBABLY HEADING ACROSS CENTRAL VANCOUVER
ISLAND DURING THE EARLY THURSDAY MORNING HOURS. THE COLD FRONT WILL
WILL SWING THROUGH OUR FORECAST AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY
THIS EVENING...FOLLOWED BY A TRAILING OR BENT BACK OCCLUSION LATE
THIS EVENING.
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ASPECT OF THIS SYSTEM OF COURSE WILL BE THE
WINDS. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE LIKELY ALONG THE COAST...WHERE A HIGH
WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM TIL MIDNIGHT AND SUSTAINED WINDS
OF 35 TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH ARE LIKELY. A WIND ADVISORY IS
IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF THE WESTERN WASHINGTON INTERIOR UNTIL
MIDNIGHT. THE STRONGEST WINDS IN THE INTERIOR WILL PROBABLY OCCUR IN
THE NORTHWEST INTERIOR...ESPECIALLY AROUND THE SAN JUANS OR WHIDBEY
ISLAND WHERE AN ISOLATED REPORT OF HIGH WINDS IS NOT OUT OF THE
QUESTION. MESOSCALE MODELS HAVE INDICATED THAT A SOUTHERLY SURGE
WILL ADVANCE THROUGH THE PUGET SOUND REGION AND INTO THE NORTHWEST
INTERIOR THIS AFTERNOON -- WHICH IS NOT UNCOMMON WITH NEGATIVELY
TILTED STRONG COLD FRONTS -- AND INDEED THE SOUTHERLY PRESSURE
GRADIENTS ARE INCREASING RAPIDLY. IN ADDITION THE WINDS ACROSS
WESTERN WASHINGTON WILL BE 45 OR 50 KT AT 925 MB...AND THE
CONVECTIVE NATURE OF THE FRONT COULD HELP THESE WINDS MIX DOWN TO
THE SURFACE.
STORM TOTAL PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS BY THURSDAY MORNING WILL BE
ROUGHLY 0.5 TO 1 INCH ALONG THE COAST...0.25 TO 0.75 INCH IN THE
INTERIOR LOWLANDS...AND 0.5 TO 1.25 INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH
LOCALLY OVER 2 INCHES IN THE OLYMPICS. SURPRISINGLY THUNDERSTORMS
HAVE NOT ACCOMPANIED THIS SYSTEM YET...BUT A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
WILL STAY IN THE FORECAST THROUGH THIS EVENING. THE SNOW LEVEL...
AROUND 6000 FT AHEAD OF THE STORM...WILL FALL TO AROUND 3500 FT BY
THURSDAY MORNING.
POST-FRONTAL SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY...WITH A
COOL AIR MASS OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON IN WEAK DIFFLUENT SOUTHWEST
FLOW AHEAD OF A DEEP UPPER LOW WELL OFFSHORE. THE AIR MASS WILL BE
RATHER UNSTABLE AND A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE
FORECAST FOR MOST OF WESTERN WASHINGTON. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL BE
AROUND 3500 FEET. HIGHER MOUNTAIN HIGHWAYS LIKE MT BAKER HIGHWAY AND
THE ROAD TO PARADISE AT MT RAINIER COULD RECEIVE UP TO 5 INCHES OF
SNOW...BUT LITTLE IF ANY ACCUMULATION IS LIKELY AT STEVENS OR
SNOQUALMIE PASS.
THE UPPER LOW WILL MOVE INTO THE OFFSHORE WATERS THURSDAY NIGHT AND
APPROACH OR REACH THE COAST FRIDAY...KEEPING THE FORECAST AREA IN A
COOL SHOWERY REGIME. THE UPPER LOW WILL MOVE INLAND AND SOUTHEAST OF
OUR AREA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...WITH WEAK NORTHERLY FLOW
DEVELOPING OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON ON SATURDAY AHEAD OF A WEAK UPPER
RIDGE WELL OFFSHORE. SATURDAY WILL DRIER AND WE COULD BEGIN TO SEE A
BIT MORE SUNSHINE...BUT IT WILL STILL BE RATHER COOL. MCDONNAL
.LONG TERM...AGREEMENT AND RUN-TO-RUN CONSISTENCY IN THE LONGER
RANGE MODELS IS RATHER POOR AND CONFIDENCE IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST
SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY IS ACCORDINGLY LOW. IT LOOKS LIKE THE WEAK
RIDGE WELL OFFSHORE ON SATURDAY WILL BE OVERRIDDEN BY AN UPPER
TROUGH FROM THE WEST ON SUNDAY...AND BEST GUESS IS THAT AN UPPER
TROUGH WILL CONTINUE TO INFLUENCE OUR WEATHER THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF
NEXT WEEK. THE FORECAST IS BROAD BRUSH GIVEN THE LACK OF CONFIDENCE
BUT KEEPS A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL
TEMPERATURES. MCDONNAL
&&
.AVIATION...A STRONG COLD FRONT ALONG THE WA COAST WILL SWING
THROUGH PUGET SOUND AROUND 00Z. VERY STRONG SLY FLOW ALOFT WILL
BECOME SW BEHIND THE FRONT THIS EVENING. THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE
MOIST AND UNSTABLE THROUGH TONIGHT WITH RAIN CHANGING TO SHOWERS.
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EARLY THIS EVENING.
KSEA...SLY WINDS OF 10-20 KT W/ GUSTS TO 30 KT WILL INCREASE TO
20-25 KT W/ GUSTS TO 40 MPH BEHIND A FRONT MOVING BY THE
TERMINAL AROUND 00Z. A BRIEF LULL MAY OCCUR EARLY THIS EVENING THEN
SLY WINDS WILL PICK UP AGAIN THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS. WINDS WILL
SLOWLY SUBSIDE LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY MORNING.
WINDS ALOFT AT KSEA THIS EVENING 1000 FEET 35 KT
2000 FEET 45 KT
4000 FEET 55 KT
&&
.MARINE...A STRONG FRONT OVER THE INLAND WATERS WILL MOVE EAST THIS
EVENING. OFFSHORE...A DEEP 980-985 MB SURFACE LOW ABOUT 150 NM OFF
THE S WA COAST WILL MOVE N INTO CENTRAL VANCOUVER ISLAND TONIGHT.
STORM FORCE WINDS ARE LIKELY OVER THE COASTAL WATERS. GALES ARE
LIKELY REMAINING WATERS EXCEPT THE CENTRAL STRAIT.
AFTER THAT THE REGION WILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SEVERAL WEAK
SYSTEMS WITH VARYING DEGREES OF LIGHT TO MODERATE ONSHORE FLOW.
LARGE SWELL WILL REACH THE COASTAL WATERS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
THURSDAY MORNING. EXPECT SEAS TO BUILD FROM 10 FT LATE THIS
AFTERNOON TO 20-25 FT BY LATER THIS EVENING. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS
IN EFFECT FOR THIS TIME PERIOD.
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE COAST IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
.WIND ADVISORY FOR THE NORTHWEST INTERIOR AND PUGET SOUND
REGION IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT.
.HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR THE COAST IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS
AFTERNOON TO 11 AM THURSDAY...
PZ...STORM WARNING COAST AND WEST ENTRANCE.
.GALE WARNING ALL REMAINING WATERS EXCEPT THE CENTRAL STRAIT.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CENTRAL STRAIT.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH GRAYS HARBOR BAR CONDITIONS IN
EFFECT.
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE
FOR AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THE FORECAST DISCUSSION PLEASE SEE
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML (ALL LOWERCASE)PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
421 PM PDT WED MAY 19 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0404 PM NON-TSTM WND GST GIG HARBOR 47.33N 122.59W
05/19/2010 M47.00 MPH PIERCE WA ASOS
0405 PM HIGH SUST WINDS S SPANAWAY 47.10N 122.43W
05/19/2010 E31.00 MPH PIERCE WA TRAINED SPOTTER
ESTIMATED SUSTAINED WIND 25 TO 31 MPH WITH FRONTAL
PASSAGE. VERY HEAVY RAIN.
&&
CERNIGLIAPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
529 PM PDT WED MAY 19 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0500 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 WNW ENUMCLAW 47.23N 122.06W
05/19/2010 M65 MPH KING WA TRAINED SPOTTER
PEAK GUST, FROM THE SOUTH.
&&
CBURKEPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
615 PM PDT WED MAY 19 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0549 PM NON-TSTM WND GST HOQUIAM 46.98N 123.89W
05/19/2010 M58 MPH GRAYS HARBOR WA ASOS
&&
CERNIGLIA2 high wind, 2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Hoquiam (KHQM) registered a peak gust of 60 mph. The Destruction Island CMAN also had sustained wind in excess of 50 KT. About 1300 customers lost power after a tree fell on power lines.
About 400 customers lost power and a couple trees were blown over.
Quillayute (KUIL) ASOS registered a peak gust of 60 mph.
About 100 customers lost power and a couple trees were blown over.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, May 2010
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: 221285, 233664, 221286, 233663.