A deep strong low pressure system off the coast provided strong southerly flow to the forecast area. With a strong upper level jet and associated strong low level jet running perpendicular to the mountain terrain, and a strong surface low that set up over the Washington Basin would tighten the gradients along the Blue Mountain Foothills.
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.
A deep strong low pressure system off the coast provided strong southerly flow to the forecast area. With a strong upper level jet and associated strong low level jet running perpendicular to the mountain terrain, and a strong surface low that set up over the Washington Basin would tighten the gradients along the Blue Mountain Foothills. Wind reports in MPH are as followed: Along with a few damage reports, 9 separate wind gust reports ranging from (58-91) were recorded along the Blue Mountain Foothills, the strongest wind gust was 11 miles ENE of Milton-Freewater OR near the WA/OR state line. Several downed trees reported along a highway in the Blue Mountains.
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 Dec 10, 2:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
230 PM PST WED DEC 10 2014
.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. A COMPLEX STORM SYSTEM
OVER THE NE PAC PRODUCED DENSE FOG AND STRONG WINDS TODAY OVER
PORTIONS OF THE AREA. IN ADDITION DOWNSLOPE WINDS OVER ALW RAISED
TEMPERATURES TO 70 DEGREES. SHOWERS ARE FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE
REGION TONIGHT AND THE FOG WILL DISSIPATE WHILE THE STRONG WINDS
CONTINUE THROUGH TOMORROW. A VIGOROUS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL DRIFT
ALONG THE WA/OR COAST TOMORROW AND TIGHTEN PRESSURE GRADIENTS WHILE
AN UPPER LEVEL JET MOVES OVER THE AREA. THE COMBINATION OF THESE
FEATURES WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE WIND GUSTS GREATER THAN 50 MPH
ESPECIALLY IN THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY AND THE WALLOWA AREAS. ALSO
STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED ALONG THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
AND THESE STRONG WINDS COULD EFFECT PORTIONS OF THE OCHOCO AND JOHN
DAY HIGHLANDS TOMORROW WHERE A HIGH WIND WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT.
MEANWHILE SHOWERS ARE FORECAST TO TRACK ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT.
THE INTENSE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM DRIFTING ALONG THE COAST TOMORROW
WILL HELP TO KEEP THE CLOUDS AND SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST TOMORROW
AND TOMORROW NIGHT. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL
INTO THURSDAY.
.LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...A TROUGH OF LOW
PRESSURE WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION FRIDAY AND EXIT FRIDAY NIGHT
INTO SATURDAY. THIS WILL LEAD TO A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE LOWER
ELEVATIONS AND LIKELY RAIN AND HIGH MOUNTAIN SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS
FRIDAY. THE PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL DECREASE INTO SATURDAY AS
SNOW LEVELS DECREASE. A TEMPORARY RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL KEEP
CONDITIONS DRY THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH THE POTENTIAL OF PATCHY FOG
IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN AND SURROUNDING RIVER VALLEYS. MODELS
INDICATE THE RIDGE SHIFTING EAST AND THE REGION UNDER A SOUTHWEST
FLOW BY MONDAY. MODELS DISAGREE ON THE TIMING OF WEAK DISTURBANCES
MOVING OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST ON MONDAY AND TUESDAY. THEREFORE
HAVE A SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. WITH COOLER AIR
ALOFT...SNOW LEVELS WILL BE AROUND 2000 FEET ACROSS CENTRAL
WASHINGTON AND 3500 FEET OVER NORTHEAST AND CENTRAL OREGON. MODELS
TRY TO MOVE THE TROUGH EAST INTO THE REGION ON WEDNESDAY WHICH WOULD
LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE REGION.
DMH
&&
.AVIATION...00Z TAFS...CONDITIONS AT KYKM WILL GRADUALLY IMPROVE
THIS AFTERNOON AND BECOME MVFR THIS EVENING WHEN THE RAIN ARRIVES TO
HELP CLEAR OUT THE MIST. RAIN THIS EVENING WILL BRING MOSTLY VFR TO
MVFR CONDITIONS AT ALL TAF SITES THROUGH THE NIGHT. CEILINGS WILL
RAISE TOMORROW AS RAIN BEGINS TO DECREASE BY THE AFTERNOON. WINDS
WILL BE VERY WINDY ALONG THE FOOTHILLS NEAR KALW AND KPDT AND IN
CENTRAL OREGON NEAR KBDN AND KRDM THIS EVENING. WINDS WILL DECREASE
TEMPORARILY OVERNIGHT AND THEN RAISE AGAIN THURSDAY MORNING. DMH
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 51 60 42 47 / 50 70 40 60
ALW 50 59 42 48 / 60 70 50 70
PSC 47 57 40 48 / 50 70 30 50
YKM 38 48 34 45 / 60 80 30 30
HRI 48 60 41 50 / 50 70 40 50
ELN 37 46 35 44 / 60 80 40 30
RDM 42 50 33 43 / 70 80 50 40
LGD 45 53 37 45 / 60 80 60 70
GCD 45 53 39 44 / 60 80 60 70
DLS 44 53 40 49 / 70 80 50 40
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WATCH FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING
ORZ506.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST THURSDAY ORZ507.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST THURSDAY ORZ505.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PST THURSDAY ORZ503-508.
HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 10 PM PST THURSDAY ORZ049.
WA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST THURSDAY WAZ029.
DENSE FOG ADVISORY UNTIL 4 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON WAZ026-027.
&&
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
97/84/84The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Manager of ski resort reported some time between 4p-6p 11 trees downed along the Touchet road between mileposts 13.5 and 15.5. The trees were up to 3 feet in diameter.
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, December 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: 545442, 545443.