A strong cold front brought high wind to the central coast and several northern zones. A 9 year old girl was killed when part of a tree fell on the vehicle she was in.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 strong cold front brought high wind to the central coast and several northern zones. A 9 year old girl was killed when part of a tree fell on the vehicle she was in.
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 Dec 25, 2:50 AM PST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
250 AM PST SUN DEC 25 2011
.SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT OFFSHORE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA MIDDAY
TODAY BRINGING RAIN AND BREEZY CONDITIONS. SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF
THIS EVENING AS A WEAK RIDGE OF HIGH PRES BUILDS INTO THE AREA.
ANOTHER FRONT WILL APPROACH THE AREA MONDAY AND MOVE INLAND MONDAY
EVENING. A WET AND ACTIVE WEATHER REGIME WILL CONTINUE FOR THE
UPCOMING WEEK AS STRONG ZONAL FLOW SETS UP OVER THE NORTH PACIFIC...
ALLOWING A SERIES OF PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEMS TO MOVE THROUGH THE
AREA.
&&
.SHORT TERM...INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS AN INCOMING FRONT
MOVING THROUGH THE OFFSHORE WATERS EARLY THIS MORNING. BOTH THE
SATELLITE IMAGERY AND THE COASTAL RADAR SUGGEST THAT THIS FRONT MAY
BE WEAKER THAN EARLIER EXPECTED AS RAIN IS STILL WELL OFFSHORE AND
WINDS IN THE COASTAL WATERS PER BUOYS AND A LONE SHIP REPORT AHEAD
OF THE FRONT ARE ON THE ORDER OF 25 KNOTS. BUT THE 06Z NAM12 AND GFS
STILL SHOW SOME GALE FORCE WINDS IN THE COASTAL WATERS THIS MORNING
AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND 0.4 TO 0.8 INCHES WATER EQUIVALENT
PRECIPITATION WITH AND BEHIND THE FRONT IN THE CASCADES.
EXPECT SNOW LEVELS IN THE MOUNTAINS TO RAPIDLY DROP FROM ABOUT 5000
FEET EARLY THIS MORNING TO 3500 FEET WITH THE FRONT AND 2500 FEET
THIS EVENING. EXPECT 4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW ABOVE ABOUT 3500 FEET IN
THE CASCADES THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT. WHILE MARGINAL...EXPECT
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY AMOUNTS AT MT BAKER...STEVENS PASS...AND
PARADISE. SINCE IT HAS NOT SNOWED FOR QUITE A WHILE...WILL ISSUE THE
ADVISORY FOR THE PERIOD FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING THROUGH 3 AM EARLY
MON MORNING ABOVE 3500 FEET.
SHOWERS TAPER OFF TONIGHT AS A WEAK RIDGE OF HIGH PRES BUILDS INTO
THE AREA FROM THE WEST THEN SHIFTS EAST OF THE CASCADES MON MORNING.
A RELATIVELY DRY PERIOD CAN BE EXPECTED IN MOST OF THE INTERIOR
LOWLANDS FROM LATE THIS EVENING THROUGH MID AFTERNOON MONDAY.
THE NEXT FRONT...NOW AROUND 155W...IS ALONG THE LEADING EDGE OF A
STRENGTHENING PACIFIC JET STREAM. THIS FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE
AREA MONDAY EVENING BRINGING A PERIOD OF MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY
RAIN TO THE COAST AND BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS. MORE
WIDESPREAD ADVISORY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS FRONT.
RAINFALL WILL PICK UP AGAIN LATER TUESDAY AS THE NEXT WAVE RAPIDLY
MOVES INTO THE AREA. THIS SYSTEM MAY REQUIRE THE ISSUANCE OF A
WINTER STORM WATCH AT SOME POINT FOR TUESDAY NIGHT ABOVE ABOUT 4000
FEET.
TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM THE MID 30S TO LOWER 40S AT NIGHT AND
REMAIN IN THE LOWER TO MID 40S DURING THE DAY THROUGH TUESDAY.
ALBRECHT
.LONG TERM...MODELS CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE A WET AND ACTIVE PERIOD
THROUGH THE WEEK AND POSSIBLY INTO NEW YEARS DAY. LOCALLY HEAVY
RAINFALL IS POSSIBLE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN
WEDNESDAY NIGHT...FRIDAY...AND NEXT SATURDAY AS MOISTURE GETS
TRANSPORTED EASTWARD FROM THE SUBTROPICAL WESTERN PACIFIC. A 140-160
KNOT 300 MB JET MAY ENERGIZE INDIVIDUAL FRONTAL WAVES RESULTING IN
WINDY CONDITIONS AT TIMES. THE ECMWF IS GENERALLY ABOUT 20 KT
STRONGER WITH THE JET THAN THE GFS. SNOW LEVELS WILL RISE TO ABOUT
5000 FEET MIDWEEK THEN FALL BACK TO ABOUT 3000 FEET BY NEXT FRIDAY.
ALBRECHT
&&
.HYDROLOGY...A SERIES OF WET WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL ARRIVE OVER THE
NEXT WEEK OR SO. ALTHOUGH NO PARTICULAR SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE IT WILL
CAUSE WIDESPREAD FLOODING...RIVERS WILL CERTAINLY RISE. THE
SKOKOMISH RIVER IS LIKELY TO REACH ADVISORY STAGE AT TIMES AND COULD
GO ABOVE FLOOD STAGE AS WELL. BURKE
&&
.AVIATION...A COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED UPPER LOW WILL REACH THE COAST
NEAR 16Z AND PUSH THROUGH PUGET SOUND AROUND 19Z. MOISTURE WILL
INCREASE AT ALL LEVELS AS THE FRONT ARRIVES WITH INCREASING
RAIN...TAPERING TO SHOWERS BEHIND THE FRONT IN THE AFTERNOON. STRONG
SW FLOW ALOFT WILL BECOME MODERATE WLY FLOW ALOFT IN THE AFTERNOON
AS THE UPPER TROUGH PASSES. PATCHY FOG IS POSSIBLE EARLY THIS
MORNING IN A FEW PRONE LOCATIONS.
KSEA...MID CLOUDS ARE INCREASING EARLY THIS MORNING AHEAD OF THE
TROUGH. A 2-3 K FT LOWER STRATUS DECK SHOULD DEVELOP AFTER 16Z THIS
MORNING AHEAD OF THE FRONT. THE FRONT WILL PASS THE TERMINAL AROUND
19Z. EXPECT SW WIND TO INCREASE 15-20 KT WITH GUSTS TO 30 KT. DTM
&&
.MARINE...SE PRESSURE GRADIENTS ARE COMING UP ALONG THE COAST WITH
SMALL CRAFT WINDS DEVELOPING. A BRIEF PERIOD OF GALES ARE POSSIBLE
JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT THIS MORNING. SE WINDS WILL INCREASE ACROSS
THE INTERIOR WATERS BY MID MORNING. SMALL CRAFT WINDS AND A PERIOD
OF LOW END GALES ARE POSSIBLE FROM THE ADMIRALTY INLET AREA NWD. THE
STRONGEST SW WINDS TO 30 KT IN PUGET SOUND ARE POSSIBLE POST FRONTAL
THIS AFTERNOON.
THE NEXT VIGOROUS SYSTEM WILL BRING ANOTHER BOUT OF STRONG WINDS TO
THE WATERS LATE MONDAY AND TUE. GALES COULD ALSO DEVELOP WITH THIS
SYSTEM ACROSS SOME OF THE WATERS. DTM
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WEST SLOPES OF THE NORTH AND CENTRAL
CASCADES 10 AM PST THIS MORNING THROUGH 3 AM PST MONDAY.
PZ...GALE WARNING FOR THE COASTAL WATERS...EAST ENTRANCE TO THE
STRAIT...ADMIRALTY INLET...AND NORTHERN INLAND WATERS.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WEST AND CENTRAL PORTION OF THE STRAIT OF
JUAN DE FUCA...AND PUGET SOUND/HOOD CANAL.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE GRAYS HARBOR BAR.
YOU CAN SEE AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THE FORECAST DISCUSSION AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLEThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
About 20,000 homes lost power as tree limbs and some power lines were downed by the strong wind.
Both the Hoquiam ASOS and the Westport tide gauge had high sustained wind, in post frontal westerlies.
An automated system in Freeland on Whidbey Island reported about 2.5 hours of high wind, both sustained and gust. A 9 year old girl was killed, and her father injured, when the top part of a tree broke and fell on their SUV.
An automated system on Lopez Island reported high sustained wind.
An automated system maintained by a CWOP observer in Bellingham had about 2 hours of high wind, both sustained and gust. Sandy Point Shores also had brief high sustained wind.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind, Admiralty Inlet Area | 2011-12-25 | 9 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, December 2011
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: 357578, 352566, 352563, 352564, 352565.