Strong winds moved across southern Deschutes County on Sunday May 4th. This knocked down several trees and power lines.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 PDT wrote it up.
Strong winds moved across southern Deschutes County on Sunday May 4th. This knocked down several trees and power lines. Some of the trees were over 50 feet tall and had diameters of 12 to 14 inches. Also, a power line was knocked over sparked a wildfire. This wildfire spread to burn over 160 acres of land and threatened several homes.
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 May 4, 9:22 AM PST, 2 hours 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 1022 AM PDT SAT MAY 4 2013 UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION .SHORT TERM...TODAY AND TONIGHT...TWO WEATHER FEATURES WILL BE IMPACTING THE FORECAST AREA TODAY. THE FIRST IS THE LARGE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST. THE OTHER IS THE SMALLER UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER IDAHO. THIS UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL BEGIN TO MOVE SOUTHWESTWARD TODAY ACROSS SOUTHEAST IDAHO AND ENDING UP OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA BY TONIGHT. THIS SYSTEM DOES NOT HAVE A LOT OF MOISTURE WITH IT BUT IT DOES HAVE SOME WEAK INSTABILITY DUE TO THE COOLER AIR ALOFT CLIPPING SOUTHERN OREGON. SOME OF THIS INSTABILITY WILL BE OVER THE SOUTHEAST PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY WHICH COULD RESULT IN A FEW ISOLATED SHOWERS DEVELOPING OVER THE MOUNTAINS. HAVE REMOVED THUNDERSTORMS FOR TODAY AS INSTABILITY JUST SEEMS TO WEAK. THE REST OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL BE MORE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WITH CLEAR SKIES AND WARM TEMPERATURES. WILL SEE AN INCREASE IN BREEZY NORTHEAST WINDS TODAY THAT WILL DECREASE OVERNIGHT. && .AVIATION...18Z TAFS...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED AT ALL TAF SITES FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. SKIES WILL BE MOSTLY CLEAR ASIDE FROM SOME MID AND HIGH CLOUDS MOVING THROUGH EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST OREGON. THERE WILL BE AN INCREASE TO SCATTERED CUMULUS CLOUDS AT ABOUT 060-080 AT KRDM, KBDN, KYKM, KPDT AND KALW IN THE AFTERNOON AND A FEW HIGH CIRRUS AT ABOUT 250 ELSEWHERE. NORTHEAST WINDS, UNUSUALLY STRONG FOR THAT DIRECTION, WILL INCREASE TO ABOUT 15 TO 25 KTS WITH HIGHER GUSTS SATURDAY AFTERNOON...ESPECIALLY IN WESTERN AND SOUTHERN AREAS THROUGH AROUND 03Z THEN DROP BELOW 15 KTS THROUGH 18Z TOMORROW MORNING. PERRY && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 417 AM PDT SAT MAY 4 2013/ SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. UPPER LEVEL LOW IS CURRENTLY OVER IDAHO. NORTHERLY JET OVER WASHINGTON AND OREGON WILL CAUSE THE LOW TO RETROGRADE BACK INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LATER TODAY. MODELS CONTINUE TO DEPICT WEAK INSTABILITY OVER CENTRAL OREGON AND MAY SEE SCATTERED SHOWERS OR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON. THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL HAVE MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES. HIGHS WILL BE IN THE 70S. NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BE INCREASING TODAY BECOMING BREEZY IN SOME LOCATIONS IN THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE LOW WILL BE LOCATED JUST OFF THE CALIFORNIA COAST ON SUNDAY PROVIDING A SOUTHERLY FLOW INTO OREGON. THERE SHOULD BE MORE INSTABILITY AND EXPECT GREATER COVERAGE OF SHOWERS OR THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AFTERNOON. MAINLY OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON. ONCE AGAIN THE REMAINDER OF THE FORECAST AREA NORTHWARD INTO WASHINGTON SHOULD BE MOSTLY SUNNY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE A FEW DEGREES WARMER SUNDAY WITH LOWER 80S POSSIBLE IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN. WINDS WILL BE LIGHTER. 94 LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...MONDAY A CUT OFF LOW WILL BE OFF THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST. THE LOW WILL MOVE INLAND AND FILL TUESDAY. MOISTURE ROTATING AROUND THE CUTOFF LOW WILL AFFECT THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE CWA MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY FROM THE LOW WILL COMBINE WITH DAYTIME HEATING TO TRIGGER A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CENTRAL OREGON TO GRANT AND WALLOWA COUNTIES MONDAY AND TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. BY WEDNESDAY THE LOW WILL MOVE INTO THE GREAT BASIN. LINGERING INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE MAY TRIGGER A FEW THUNDERSTORMS FROM THE OCHOCO MOUNTAINS TO THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS AND WALLOWA COUNTY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OFFSHORE THURSDAY FOR FAIR AND DRY WEATHER. COONFIELD && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... PDT 75 46 77 48 / 0 0 0 0 ALW 76 52 79 51 / 0 0 0 0 PSC 79 50 81 48 / 0 0 0 0 YKM 80 51 81 46 / 0 0 0 0 HRI 78 47 81 45 / 0 0 0 0 ELN 78 49 79 46 / 0 0 0 0 RDM 72 37 77 44 / 0 0 20 20 LGD 69 43 72 43 / 0 0 0 10 GCD 69 41 73 44 / 10 10 20 20 DLS 81 51 83 47 / 0 0 0 0 && .PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...NONE. WA...NONE. && THREAT INDEX TODAY : GREEN SUNDAY : GREEN MONDAY : GREEN GREEN: NONE OR LIMITED NEED FOR WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES. YELLOW: A FEW WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES POSSIBLE OR IN EFFECT. RED: NUMEROUS WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES POSSIBLE OR IN EFFECT. FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT... WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON 91/76/83
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 1230 PM PDT SAT MAY 4 2013 ORZ506-052000- OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS- 1230 PM PDT SAT MAY 4 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL OREGON. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS ARE NO LONGER EXPECTED OVER PORTIONS OF CENTRAL OREGON TODAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE UPPER LOW WILL BE OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SUNDAY AND MONDAY THEN MOVE INTO NEVADA TUESDAY. THIS WILL CREATE A BETTER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind, 1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees and power lines reported down by Deschutes County Sheriff Commander.
Reports of strong winds knocked down power lines and sparked the Burgess Road Fire. The fire spread over 168 acres and threatened 75 structures. This forces several civilians to evacuate on short notice.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, May 2013
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: 438713, 438714.