High Wind in Washington, November 11, 2014

Name: High Wind in Washington, November 11, 2014
Start: 2014-11-11T05:55
End: 2014-11-11T22:27
Location: Washington

November 11, 2014 · NWS SEW · 1 event in 1 county or zone

This was a Fraser outflow event that gradually turned into an easterly wind event out of the Cascades into the nearby lowlands. The only high wind reports (40 mph gust 58 mph or greater) received were from Enumclaw.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $4.0 million
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 SEW wrote it up.

This was a Fraser outflow event that gradually turned into an easterly wind event out of the Cascades into the nearby lowlands.

The only high wind reports (40 mph gust 58 mph or greater) received were from Enumclaw. A spotter reported 40g60 mph winds at 555 AM Tue Nov 11. Later that night around 10 PM two automated stations reported 58-61 mph gusts around Enumclaw. Elsewhere, where advisories were in effect, advisory-strength winds were reported at times. South King, Pierce, and Kitsap counties had winds mostly in the 20g35 mph range--sub-advisory.

Most power outages were in those areas. Puget Sound Energy reported about 200,000 customers without power, with an estimated damage costs of nearly 4 million dollars.

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 Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 11, 3:10 AM PST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 11, 3:10 AM PST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
310 AM PST TUE NOV 11 2014

.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER RIDGE AND LOW LEVEL OFFSHORE FLOW WILL PROVIDE
CLEAR AND COOLER WEATHER THROUGH WEDNESDAY WITH TEMPERATURES
DROPPING BELOW FREEZING AT NIGHT. A WEAK WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING
AT LEAST A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH
THURSDAY NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE WEEKEND FOR MORE
DRY WEATHER.

&&

.SHORT TERM...DRY NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL PREVAIL THROUGH
WEDNESDAY...BRINGING COOL MOSTLY SUNNY DAYS AND CLEAR CHILLY NIGHTS.
MODERATE TO STRONG LOW LEVEL OFFSHORE WILL ALSO PREVAIL WITH STRONG
HIGH PRESSURE EAST OF THE ROCKIES. NORTHEASTERLY PRESSURE GRADIENTS
WILL PEAK THIS MORNING. LOCAL ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS ARE FORECAST FOR
THE NORTHWEST INTERIOR AND SAN JUANS THROUGH FOR THIS. GRADIENTS
WILL BECOME MORE EASTERLY LATER TODAY AS THE CONTINENTAL SURFACE
HIGH SHIFTS SOUTH AND STRONG EASTERLY GRADIENTS WILL CONTINUE INTO
WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL BRING GUSTY EAST WINDS TO PARTS OF THE AREA
WITH LOCAL ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS POSSIBLE FOR THE EAST PUGET SOUND
LOWLANDS AND NORTH COAST. HIGHS WILL COOL INTO THE 40S FOR THE NEXT
COUPLE OF DAYS WITH LOWS IN THE 20S TO LOWER 30S MOST AREAS.

A WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ONSHORE LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND
THURSDAY. PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE SOUTHWEST.
THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY WITH HOW FAR NORTH IT WILL EVENTUALLY
SPREAD. THE CURRENT THINKING IS THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL
BE FROM ABOUT CENTRAL PUGET SOUND SOUTHWARD. THE AIR MASS IN PLACE
WILL BE COLD ENOUGH THAT THERE IS A CHANCE THE PRECIPITATION COULD
START OUT AS A RAIN/SNOW MIX THURSDAY FOR MANY AREAS. THE BEST
CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATIONS WOULD BE OVER THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR
THURSDAY MORNING. NEEDLESS TO SAY...THERE IS CURRENTLY MUCH
UNCERTAINTY WITH HOW THIS WILL ALL PLAY OUT. STAY TUNED. SCHNEIDER

.LONG TERM...A LONG WAVE UPPER RIDGE WILL BE OVER THE AREA FRIDAY
THROUGH MONDAY BUT THAT WONT BE ENOUGH TO PREVENT RELATIVELY WEAK
PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEMS FROM BRINGING A LITTLE RAIN AT TIMES. THERE
WILL PROBABLY BE SOME RESIDUAL PRECIPITATION FROM THE THURSDAY
SYSTEM LINGERING INTO FRIDAY. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE ONSHORE
SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. THE ECMWF SHOWS A WETTER SYSTEM REACHING
THE AREA MONDAY BUT THE GFS IS DRY. CONFIDENCE IN THE DETAILS IS
PRETTY LOW FOR THE EXTENDED PERIOD RIGHT NOW. SCHNEIDER

&&

.HYDROLOGY...RIVER FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED IN THE NEXT 7 DAYS.

&&

.AVIATION...DRY NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL PREVAIL OVER WESTERN
WASHINGTON TODAY AND TONIGHT...AHEAD OF A STRONG UPPER RIDGE OVER
THE OFFSHORE WATERS. AT THE SURFACE...ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE OVER
WESTERN CANADA WILL PRODUCE STRONG EAST TO NORTHEAST OFFSHORE FLOW
AS IT MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS STATES. THERE WILL BE LOCALLY
SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 KT WITH HIGHER GUSTS.

FOR THE MOST PART...THERE WILL BE NO SIGNIFICANT CLOUDS BELOW
12000 FT THROUGH TONIGHT. HOWEVER THERE IS SOME PATCHY FOG IN A FEW
OF THE RIVER VALLEYS THIS MORNING...WHICH SHOULD BURN OFF BY LATE
MORNING. THERE IS ALSO SOME MID LEVEL CLOUD ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF
THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA AND IN THE CENTRAL PUGET SOUND REGION...BUT
THIS CLOUD COVER SHOULD DISSIPATE.

KSEA...NORTHEAST WIND 10-16 KT...RISING TO 16-24 KT MIDDAY. THE WIND
WILL PROBABLY PEAK THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS
35 KT...THEN EASE TO 10-20 KT LATER TONIGHT.   MCDONNAL

&&

.MARINE...STRONG NORTHEAST OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
WEDNESDAY NIGHT...AS ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE MOVES SOUTHEAST FROM
WESTERN CANADA INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS STATES. GALE FORCE NORTHEAST
WINDS THAT DEVELOPED OVER THE NORTHERN INLAND WATERS WILL CONTINUE
THIS MORNING...BUT SHOULD EASE SOMEWHAT LATER TODAY. GALE FORCE EAST
TO NORTHEAST WINDS SHOULD DEVELOP THIS MORNING OVER THE CENTRAL
STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA...WEST ENTRANCE STRAIT...AND COASTAL
WATERS...AND THOSE GALE WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY.
THE STRONGEST WINDS -- PROBABLY AROUND 40 KT -- WILL PROBABLY BE AT
THE WEST ENTRANCE STRAIT AND ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS.

FRONTS WILL MOVE INTO THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE SOUTHWEST BEGINNING
THURSDAY AND CONTINUING THROUGH SATURDAY. THE FRONTS WILL BE
RELATIVELY WEAK...BUT THEY WILL PROBABLY STRENGTHEN THE OFFSHORE
FLOW AGAIN AT TIMES.   MCDONNAL

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...WIND ADVISORY WESTERN WHATCOM...SAN JUAN ISLANDS...NORTH
     COAST...EAST PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS.
PZ...GALE WARNING COASTAL WATERS...WEST ENTRANCE
     STRAIT...CENTRAL STRAIT...NORTHERN INLAND WATERS.
     SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY EAST ENTRANCE STRAIT...ADMIRALTY INLET...
      PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL.

&&

YOU CAN SEE AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THIS FORECAST DISCUSSION AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, East Puget Sound Lowlands

When: November 11, 5:55 AM PST to 10:27 PM PST
Where: East Puget Sound Lowlands forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $4.0 million
Reported by: Mesonet

The only high wind reports we received were from Enumclaw. A spotter reported 40g60 mph winds at 555 AM Tue Nov 11. Later that night around 10 PM two automated stations reported 58-61 mph gusts around Enumclaw. Elsewhere, where advisories were in effect, advisory-strength winds were reported at times. South King, Pierce, and Kitsap counties had winds mostly in the 20g35 mph range--sub-advisory. Power outages to nearly 200,000 customers was estimated to cost Puget Sound Energy about 4 million dollars.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, November 2014

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 546313.