5 inches of rain for the Willapa Hills overnight April 23rd through the early morning on April 24th. This resulted in rapid rises to the coastal rivers and the flooding of the Grays River near Rosburg.
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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 PQR wrote it up.
A strong cold front generated around 2.5 inches of rain for the Willapa Hills overnight April 23rd through the early morning on April 24th. This resulted in rapid rises to the coastal rivers and the flooding of the Grays River near Rosburg.
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 Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 24, 2:55 AM PST, 3 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
355 AM PDT THU APR 24 2014
.SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INLAND THIS MORNING WITH RAIN
FOLLOWED BY SHOWERS. THE SNOW LEVEL WILL LOWER TODAY BUT SHOWERS WILL
BE LIGHTER. THE UPPER LOW WILL MOVE SOUTH AND COLD AIR WILL MOVE OVER
THE AREA TONIGHT AND FRIDAY FOR CONTINUED SHOWERS. THERE WILL BE A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS A
RESULT. THERE SHOULD BE A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WET WEATHER SATURDAY.
ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT FRONTAL SYSTEM IS EXPECTED LATE SATURDAY ON THE
COAST WITH RAIN SPREADING INLAND SATURDAY NIGHT.
&&
.SHORT TERM...COLD FRONT NEAR THE NORTH OREGON COAST AT 3AM WILL
PUSH INLAND DURING THE MORNING WITH RAIN TURNING TO SHOWERS. QUITE A
BIT OF RAIN HAS FALLEN OVERNIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS WITH LOCATIONS IN
THE NORTH COAST RANGE AND THE SOUTH WASHINGTON CASCADES IN THE 1.5
TO 2.5 INCH RANGE. RIVERS DRAINING THE COAST RANGE AND THE SOUTH
WASHINGTON CASCADES HAVE RESPONDED WITH SOME RAPID RISES. I EXPECT
THE COWLITZ RIVER TO RISE ABOVE BANKFULL AT KELSO THIS MORNING BUT
SHOULD REMAIN BELOW FLOOD STAGE. THE GRAYS RIVER IN PACIFIC COUNTY
WILL RISE ABOVE BANKFULL AND COULD APPROACH FLOOD STAGE THIS
MORNING. HOWEVER...THE COLD FRONT IS ALMOST THERE AT 345 AM AND
PRECIPITATION WILL TAPER OFF BY 5 AM WITH ALLOWING FOR A RECESSION
AROUND 8 AM JUST BELOW FLOOD STAGE.
SHOWERS WILL BECOME LESS FREQUENT MID DAY TODAY. I AM GOING TO
CANCEL THE SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE CASCADES AS THE SNOW LEVEL IS
AROUND 5500 TO 6500 FEET AND ABOVE THE PASSES. TIMBERLINE AND HIGHER
SKI AREAS ARE THE ONLY PLACES LIKELY TO GET MUCH SNOW THIS MORNING.
THEN THE SNOW LEVEL WILL DROP AS THE COLD AIR MOVES IN THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. AS THE FLOW BECOMES MORE WESTERLY SOME SNOW
WILL FALL IN THE CASCADES AND AT THE HIGHEST PASSES BUT AMOUNTS WILL
NOT WARRANT AN ADVISORY. SNOW LEVEL WILL CONTINUE TO LOWER TOMORROW
DROPPING BELOW THE PASSES LATER TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. MID LEVEL
SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DECREASE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW SO SNOW AMOUNTS
AT THE PASSES WILL BE LIGHT.
THERE IS PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH SURFACE HEATING TODAY OR ENOUGH COLD
AIR ALOFT TO RESULT IN THUNDERSTORMS...ALTHOUGH SOME SMALL HAIL IS
NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. HOWEVER...BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON THE NAM AND
GFS BOTH INDICATE THE COLD POOL IS OVER NORTHERN WASHINGTON AND
EXTENDS SOUTH WITH COOLER AIR ALOFT EXTENDING INTO NW OREGON. AIR
MASS IS UNSTABLE ENOUGH TO WARRANT A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS
OVER THE INLAND AREAS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES EAST OF THE AREA FRIDAY NIGHT AND THE SHOWERS
SHOULD TAPER OFF DRAMATICALLY AFTER SUNSET. I THINK WE SHOULD HAVE A
BREAK IN PRECIPITATION FOR MOST OF SATURDAY...EXCEPT ALONG THE COAST
WHERE LIGHT RAIN MAY SPREAD IN BY AFTERNOON. RAIN WILL SPREAD INLAND
FROM THE NEXT WARM FRONT SATURDAY NIGHT. MODEL TIMING IS PRETTY
CONSISTENT. SCHNEIDER
.LONG TERM...NO CHANGES. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...SATURDAY NIGHT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY...THE LATEST MEDIUM RANGE FORECAST MODELS CONTINUE TO
ADVERTISE A FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVING ONSHORE SAT NIGHT AND EARLY SUN.
KEPT CATEGORICAL POPS FOR THIS TIME PERIOD...WITH A TRANSITION TO
SHOWERS LATER IN THE DAY SUNDAY BEHIND THE TRAILING COLD FRONT. A
WEAK WARM FRONT MAY BRUSH THE FORECAST AREA WITH SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION
ON MON...BUT THE TREND WILL BE TOWARD DRIER WEATHER AS UPPER LEVEL
RIDGING BUILDS OVER THE PAC NW. RIGHT NOW...CONFIDENCE IS PRETTY HIGH
THAT TUE WILL BE WARM AND DRY WITH THE RIDGE DIRECTLY OVERHEAD...AND
HIGH TEMPS WERE RAISED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH THE LATEST FORECAST PACKAGE.
MODEL UNCERTAINTY BEGINS TO INCREASE WED...AS THE 12Z GFS AND SOME OF
ITS ENSEMBLES INDICATE THAT A TROF OVER THE NE PAC WILL SPLIT...WITH
THE NORTHERN ENERGY PUSHING INTO THE PAC NW WED AS AN OPEN TROF. THE
12Z ECMWF MAINTAINS A NE PAC CLOSED LOW THAT HARDLY MOVES THROUGH
THE END OF THE WEEK...ALLOWING RIDGING TO REMAIN IN PLACE OVER THE
PAC NW FOR SEVERAL DAYS. HAVE KEPT SOME LOW CHANCE POPS ON WED DUE
TO THIS UNCERTAINTY. PYLE &&
.AVIATION...COLD FRONT WILL PUSH ONSHORE SOON...THEN PUSH INLAND
TO THE CASCADES BY 13Z-15Z. IFR AND MVFR AT THE COAST AHEAD OF THE
FRONT WITH A MIX OF VFR AND MVFR INLAND WITH MAIN PRECIP SHIELD
ALONG AND AHEAD OF THE FRONT. GUSTY S-SSW WINDS EASE SOME AND
BECOME SW.
BEHIND THIS FRONT THE AIR MASS WILL BECOME MORE CONVECTIVE IN
NATURE. STEADY RAIN WILL SWITCH TO SHOWERS BEHIND THE FRONT WITH
IMPROVED VSBYS OUTSIDE OF SHOWERS. SHOWERS WILL PERSIST THROUGH
THE DAY TODAY...ALONG WITH A FEW BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS. HEAVIER
SHOWERS MAY PRODUCE SMALL HAIL IN THE AFTERNOON.
KPDX AND APPROACHES...VFR WITH OCCASIONAL MVFR CIGS/VIS THIS
MORNING AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT. WINDS WILL REMAIN GUSTY AT
TIMES... UP TO 25 KT WITH PASSAGE OF THE COLD FRONT AROUND 13-14Z.
AFTER THAT WINDS TURN W-SW WITH IMPROVING CIGS/VSBYS BUT
CONTINUED SHOWERS. EXPECT GENERAL VFR WITH SHOWERS TODAY...THOUGH
PERIODS OF MVFR ARE LIKELY AT TIMES. WEAGLE/KMD
&&
.MARINE...LOW PRESSURE OFF VANCOUVER ISLAND WILL PUSH INTO
BRITISH COLUMBIA TODAY AND WEAKEN. THIS LOW WILL SEND A COLD FRONT
ONSHORE AROUND OR SLIGHTLY BEFORE SUNRISE...BRINGING GALE FORCE
GUSTS TO THE INNER WATERS. CONDITIONS HAVE EASED FARTHER OFFSHORE
AND DROPPED THE GALE THERE.
AS THE LOW TRACKS INLAND...BLUSTERY W-SW FLOW WILL DOMINATE
THURSDAY...THOUGH WINDS WILL BE GRADUALLY EASING THROUGHOUT THE
DAY. THERE MAY BE A GUST TO 35 KT IN THE FAR NORTHERN OUTER
WATERS...MOST GUIDANCE SUGGEST SUB-GALES WILL DOMINATE TODAY. VERY
CHOPPY COMBINED SEAS 11-14 FT LIKELY THROUGH THU MORNING...BUT
THIS SHOULD SLOWLY SUBSIDE LATER THU/THU NIGHT. LIGHTER CONDITIONS
EXPECTED FRI/EARLY SAT AS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FILLS OVER
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND PRESSURE GRADIENTS SLACKEN OVER THE
AREA...THOUGH SHOWERS MAY BRING SQUALLY WIND GUSTS ON FRI.
ANOTHER ORGANIZED FRONT WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR GALES AGAIN
LATER SAT. KMD
&&
.PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...NONE.
WA...NONE.
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS UNTIL 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING FOR
WATERS FROM CAPE SHOALWATER WA TO CASCADE HEAD OR FROM 10
TO 60 NM-WATERS FROM CASCADE HEAD TO FLORENCE OR FROM 10 TO
60 NM.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS UNTIL 11 AM PDT FRIDAY
FOR WATERS FROM CAPE SHOALWATER WA TO CASCADE HEAD OR FROM
10 TO 60 NM-WATERS FROM CASCADE HEAD TO FLORENCE OR FROM 10
TO 60 NM.
GALE WARNING UNTIL 8 AM PDT THIS MORNING FOR COASTAL WATERS FROM
CAPE SHOALWATER WA TO CASCADE HEAD OR OUT 10 NM-COASTAL
WATERS FROM CASCADE HEAD TO FLORENCE OR OUT 10 NM.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH COLUMBIA RIVER BAR UNTIL 4 PM PDT
THIS AFTERNOON.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH COLUMBIA RIVER BAR FROM 10 PM
THIS EVENING TO 5
AM PDT FRIDAY.
&&
MORE WEATHER INFORMATION ONLINE AT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/PORTLAND
INTERACT WITH US VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/US.NATIONALWEATHERSERVICE.PORTLAND.GOV
WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSPORTLAND
THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FROM
THE CASCADE CREST TO 60 NAUTICAL MILES OFFSHORE. THE AREA IS COMMONLY
REFERRED TO AS THE FORECAST AREA..The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The Grays River near Rosburg reached flood stage around 6 am on April 24th, 2014. The river crested at 12.1 ft around 730 AM and fell below flood stage around 9 AM.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, April 2014
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: 515497.