Eastern Pacific Coastal Waters, 2012

Waterspout in Eastern Pacific Coastal Waters, March 18, 2012

March 18, 2012 · NWS EKA · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A weak thunderstorm produced a waterspout a few miles off the coast of Samoa, CA.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 EKA wrote it up.

A weak thunderstorm produced a waterspout a few miles off the coast of Samoa, CA.

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 Eureka, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 18, 5:25 PM PST, 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 18, 5:25 PM PST, 45 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 18, 2:25 PM PST, 3 hours 45 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 18, 3:20 PM PST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
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The radar

The Eureka (Bunker Hill) radar (KBHX), 39 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:10 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 waterspout. Local standard time, as filed.

Waterspout, Point Saint George to Cape Mendocino Out to 10 Nm

When
March 18, 6:10 PM PST to 6:11 PM PST
Where
Point Saint George to Cape Mendocino Out to 10 Nm forecast zone, 8 mi WNW of Eureka
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
40.844, -124.311

The public reported a waterspout approximately 8 miles WNW of Eureka and provided pictures.

What these are

Waterspout
A tornado over water. One that moves ashore is filed as a tornado from the coastline on.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Eastern Pacific Coastal Waters in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather history

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 364349.