A front combined with a coastal barrier jet produced strong winds for the Southwest Washington Coast on March 8, 2014. The NWS Doppler Radar Velocity product detected 50 to 60 kt winds just offshore the coast between 1500 and 4000 feet above the surface.
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 front combined with a coastal barrier jet produced strong winds for the Southwest Washington Coast on March 8, 2014. The NWS Doppler Radar Velocity product detected 50 to 60 kt winds just offshore the coast between 1500 and 4000 feet above the surface.
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 Mar 8, 10:18 AM PST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
1016 AM PST SAT MAR 8 2014
.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL SPREAD INCREASING
RAIN INTO SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON THROUGH
TODAY...HEAVY AT TIMES ESPECIALLY TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY. THE STORM WILL
ALSO PRODUCE STRONG WINDS ALONG THE COAST AND OVER THE COASTAL
MOUNTAINS. THE FRONT WILL SLOWLY MOVE THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST PART OF
OUR FORECAST AREA ON SUNDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE HIGH IN THE
CASCADES. A TRAILING UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE IN SUNDAY NIGHT AND
MONDAY...BRINGING MORE SHOWERS TO THE AREA WITH SNOW LEVELS LOWERING
TO NEAR PASS ELEVATIONS ON MONDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE OF A
THUNDERSTORM ON MONDAY. AN UPPER RIDGE MAY THEN BRING A FEW DAYS OF
DRIER WEATHER AFTER MONDAY.
&&
.SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH MONDAY...CONCERNS IN THE SHORT TERM
ARE WINDS AND RAIN LATER TODAY INTO SUNDAY.
AN ATMOSPHERIC RIVER TYPE FRONTAL ZONE WAS OFF THE COAST THIS
MORNING...AND WILL SLOWLY EDGE INTO SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND
NORTHWEST OREGON TODAY...AND MOVE BODILY INTO THE AREA TONIGHT. THIS
FRONT INGESTED FORMER WESTERN OR CENTRAL PACIFIC TYPHOON FAXIA INTO
IT...SO IT IS LADEN WITH MOISTURE AS PWS EXCEED 1 INCH NEAR THE COAST
AND ABOUT 1.4 INCHES FARTHER OFFSHORE. RAIN SHOULD BECOME HEAVY AT
TIMES TONIGHT AS THE FRONT MOVES IN...LINGERING IN OUR SOUTHERN
FORECAST ZONES INTO SUNDAY. WE SHOULD SEE SOME SUBSTANTIAL RISES ON
AREA RIVERS...AND SEVERAL WILL PROBABLY RISE TO NEAR BANKFULL
LEVELS...AND A COUPLE MAY GET CLOSE TO FLOOD STAGE. OF MOST CONCERN
ARE THE GRAYS RIVER...THE NEHALEM RIVER...AND POSSIBLY THE CLACKAMAS
RIVER.
THIS FRONT WILL ALSO PRODUCE HIGH WINDS ALONG THE COAST AND IN THE
COASTAL MOUNTAINS...BEGINNING THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE COAST. LOOKING
AT THE MODEL MOVEMENT OF THE FRONT...THE WINDS IN THE NORTH SHOULD
DECREASE 10 PM TO MIDNIGHT TONIGHT...WHILE IN THE SOUTH COASTAL AREAS
THEY WILL LINGER UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT.
PRECIPITATION WILL DWINDLE FROM THE NORTHWEST SUNDAY...LINGERING A
BIT IN EASTERN LANE COUNTY AS THE FRONT HANGS UP THERE. THEN A
TRAILING COOLER UPPER TROUGH WILL APPROACH SUNDAY NIGHT...LIFTING
THE FRONT NORTH A BIT OVERNIGHT...THEN MOVING THROUGH ON MONDAY. THIS
WILL INCREASE THE SHOWERS OVER OUR AREA...WITH SNOW LEVELS LOWER TO
NEAR THE CASCADE PASSES MONDAY. WITH MINUS 20 DEGREE C AIR AT 500 MB
ON MONDAY...ADDED A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. TOLLESON
.LONG TERM...NO CHANGES. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...
MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY...AFTER A LINGERING THREAT FOR SHOWERS
LATE MONDAY AND SOME OROGRAPHICALLY ENHANCED SHOWERS INTO TUESDAY
MORNING...THERE IS GOOD MODEL AGREEMENT AMPLIFYING AN UPPER LEVEL
RIDGE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. GIVEN THE
RECENT BATCH OF MOISTURE AND CLEARING...MAY SEE SOME PATCHY
MORNING/EVENING VALLEY FOG DEVELOP TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY SINCE
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS WEAKEN AS WELL. MOST RECENT MODEL RUNS
HAVE DOWNPLAYED THE NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE
07/12Z GFS STILL DIGS THE TROUGH AXIS FURTHER SOUTH INTO THE FORECAST
AREA THURSDAY...BUT HAS NOW LIFTED THE THREAT MORE INTO CANADA
SIMILAR TO WHAT THE ECMWF CONSISTENTLY SHOWS. ONCE WE GET INTO LATE
NEXT WEEK...THERE ARE SEVERAL MODEL DISCREPANCIES. WENT MORE TOWARDS
CLIMO FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE EXTENDED SINCE THE GFS HAS A RIDGE
BUILDING OVER US...WHILE THE ECMWF HAS A FRONT MOVING ONSHORE. /27
&&
.AVIATION...VFR CONDITIONS LATE THIS MORNING WILL GIVE WAY TO MVFR
CONDITIONS INLAND AND A MIX OF IFR AND MVFR CONDITIONS ALONG THE
COAST LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING AS A RAIN INTENSIFIES.
THESE LOWER FLIGHT CONDITIONS SHOULD PERSIST OVERNIGHT BEFORE
IMPROVING SUNDAY MORNING AS THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES.
KPDX AND APPROACHES...EASTERLY FLOW AHEAD OF A FRONT SHOULD KEEP
CONDITIONS VFR THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. HEAVIER PRECIPITATION BETWEEN
00Z AND 06Z SHOULD CAUSE CONDITIONS TO DETERIORATE INTO MVFR...AND
POSSIBLY INTO HIGH END IFR. CONDITIONS SHOULD THEN IMPROVE TO VFR
SUNDAY AS THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE DESTABILIZES. /NEUMAN
&&
.MARINE...AN APPROACHING FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BRING GALE FORCE WINDS
THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING TO THE WATERS. EXPECT WIND GUSTS OF 35 TO
40 KT ACROSS THE OUTER WATERS...WITH WIND GUSTS OF 45 KT AND ISOLATED
50 KT GUSTS LIKELY WITHIN 20 NM OF THE COAST...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE
OREGON WATERS. THIS WILL BE IN RESPONSE TO A COASTAL JET THAT IS
LIKELY TO ENHANCE WIND SPEEDS IN THE AFOREMENTIONED REGION. WINDS
WILL LIKELY BE STRONGEST BETWEEN 4 AND 10 PM THIS EVENING.
EXPECT SEAS TO BUILD RAPIDLY DURING THIS TIME...LIKELY PEAKING IN THE
15 TO 17 FT RANGE ACROSS THE OUTER WATERS...AND 17 TO 19 FT RANGE
ACROSS THE INNER WATERS. BECAUSE THESE HIGHER SEAS WILL GENERALLY BE
GENERATED LOCALLY...EXPECT THEM TO COME DOWN FAIRLY QUICKLY INTO THE
LOW TEENS EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. I LEFT THE CURRENT ENDING TIME OF THE
GALE WARNINGS ALONE DUE TO UNCERTAINTY IN THESE FRONTAL
SITUATIONS...BUT CURRENT MODEL RUNS SUGGEST THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL
LIKELY BE OVER BY MIDNIGHT...IF NOT AN HOUR OR TWO EARLIER.
HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC WILL BRING QUIETER WINDS AND
SEAS TO THE REGION FOR MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. AN INCOMING SWELL LATE IN
THE WEEK WILL CAUSE SEAS TO PUSH 10 FT...AND THERMAL LOW PRESSURE
DEVELOPMENT OVER CALIFORNIA WILL BRING A PERIOD OR TWO OF GUSTY 25 KT
NORTHERLY WINDS. /NEUMAN
&&
.PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 3 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM PDT
SUNDAY FOR CENTRAL COAST RANGE OF WESTERN OREGON-COAST
RANGE OF NORTHWEST OREGON.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 2 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM PDT
SUNDAY FOR CENTRAL OREGON COAST.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO MIDNIGHT PST
TONIGHT FOR NORTH OREGON COAST.
WA...HIGH WIND WATCH FROM 2 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS
EVENING FOR SOUTH WASHINGTON COAST-WILLAPA HILLS.
PZ...GALE WARNING UNTIL 1 AM PST SUNDAY 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 WINDS UNTIL 10 AM PST 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.
GALE WARNING UNTIL 5 AM PDT SUNDAY 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 5 AM
PDT SUNDAY.
&&
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.1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Oregon Department of Transportation's weather station on Megler Bridge measured sustained winds of 48 mph with a peak gust of 63 mph for 6 consecutive hours. Sustained winds of 49 mph were also reported at Cape Disappointment for 3 consecutive hours with a peak gust of 59 mph.
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, March 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: 507383.