A frontal system accompanied by an upper jet resulted in a burst of gusty winds for the Northwest Oregon Coast, Coast range and Cascades.
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 frontal system accompanied by an upper jet resulted in a burst of gusty winds for the Northwest Oregon Coast, Coast range and Cascades.
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 Jan 17, 2:50 PM PST, 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
250 PM PST SAT JAN 17 2015
.SYNOPSIS...A WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SLOWLY N THROUGH SAT
EVENING UP INTO SOUTHERN WA. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE IN BEHIND THE
WARM FRONT...CROSSING NW OREGON AND SW WA OVERNIGHT. A COUPLE OF
TROUGHS OF LOW PRES ALOFT WILL THEN MOVE ACROSS THE REGION SUN
KEEPING A THREAT FOR SHOWERS GOING INT SUN NIGHT. ON MON AN AREA OF
HIGH PRES WILL BUILD OVER THE PACIFIC NW...THEN MOVE INLAND AND E OF
THE CASCADES TUE FOR DRY WEATHER THAT WILL LAST THROUGH MIDWEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...RADAR SHOWED RAIN OVER PRETTY MUCH ALL OF NW OREGON
AND SW WA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AS TROPICL MOISTURE WAS OVERRUNNING A
WARM FRONT THAT WAS APPROACHING THE S END OF THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY.
N OF THE WARM FRONT RAINFALL RATES WERE REPORTED AS HIGH AS AN INCH
PER THREE HOURS ALONG THE COAST AND IN THE COAST RANGE. EXPECT THE
FOCUS OF HEAVIEST RAIN TO CONTINUE TO SHIFT N THIS EVENING...WITH
RAINFALL RATES POTENTIALLY INCREASING SOME IN RESPONSE TO THE
STRENGTHENING ONSHORE FLOW SEEN AT H8 THIS EVENING...WITH SPEEDS UP
TO 60 KT JUST AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. SPEAKING OF WIND SPEEDS...THE
COLD FRONT ITSELF IS LIKELY TO KICK OFF SOME HIGH WINDS ALONG THE
COAST THIS EVENING AS SURFACE PRES GRADIENTS DOWN THE OREGON COAST
REACH AROUND 12 MB AND THE WINDS SWITCH FROM S TO SW TO ALLOW A
BOOST BY A COASTAL JET.
ONCE THE COLD FRONT MOVES INLAND...AIR MASS TRANSITIONS TO A COOLER
MORE UNSTABLE AIR MASS. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE THE POST FRONTAL
UNSTABLE LAYER IS LIMITED VERTICALLY BY SOME SUBSIDENCE ALOFT...SO
CONVECTION IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE TERRIBLY DEEP...PROBABLY UP TO
AROUND 15K FT. A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES ON SUN WILL PROVIDE SOME
DYNAMIC LIFT FOR POST FRONTAL SHOWERS...WITH OROGRAPHIC LIFT AIDING
THE WINDWARD SIDE OF MOUNTAINS. WITH A GENERALLY WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT
COMING IN OFF THE PACIFIC SNOW LEVELS WILL NOT DROP DRAMATICALLY...
BUT BY LATE SUN ENOUGH COOLING OCCURS TO DROP THE SNOW LEVEL DOWN
BELOW MOST PASSES IN THE CASCADES. CHANCES FOR SHOWERS WILL DROP OFF
FROM S TO N SUN NIGHT INTO MON AS A SURFACE HIGH BUILDS NORTHWARD.
.LONG TERM...MODELS IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT IN BEGINNING THE
EXTENDED PERIOD WITH AN UPPER RIDGE AT MID WEEK...WHICH SHOULD
RESULT IN DRY WEATHER BUT WITH PLENTY OF VALLEY FOG UNDER A
SUBSIDENCE INVERSION. MODELS AGREE IN WEAKENING THE RIDGE THU AND
FRI...ALTHOUGH HEIGHTS REMAIN HIGH. LOOKS LIKE WHATEVER SYSTEMS
BREAK THROUGH WILL BE ON THE WEAK SIDE...SO OVERALL WILL TEND TO
KEEP POPS ON THE LOW SIDE...PEAKING WITH SOME LIKELY POPS ACROSS THE
N ON FRI WHEN MODELS APPEAR TO BE IN BEST AGREEMENT WITH RAIN
POTENTIAL. WILL THEN TREND BACK TO DRIER CONDITIONS FOR NEXT WEEKEND
AS BOTH GFS AND ECMWF SUGGESTING A STRENGTHENING RIDGE AGAIN.
&&
.AVIATION...LARGELY MVFR AND IFR CONDITIONS WITH RAIN CONTINUING
THROUGH THE EVENING. CIGS WILL BE LOW ENOUGH THE VFR FLIGHT SEEMS
UNLIKELY AND ESPECIALLY WITH TERRAIN OBSCURATION. COLD FRONT WILL
CROSS THE CENTRAL COAST AND SOUTHERN WILLAMETTE VALLEY AROUND 04Z
TONIGHT AND REACH THE NORTH AROUND 07Z. WIND GUSTS NEARING 50 KT
ALONG THE COAST AND GUSTS TO 35 KT FOR THE INTERIOR VALLEYS THIS
EVENING AND TONIGHT. MARGINAL LLWS CONDITIONS INLAND AS WINDS
ALOFT INCREASE. HOWEVER...CONFIDENCE NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO INCLUDE IN
ANY TAF AT THIS TIME. SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP AND WINDS WILL EASE A
COUPLE HOURS OR SO AFTER THE COLD FRONT PASSES. FLOW WILL TURN A
LITTLE MORE WESTERLY AROUND DAYBREAK SUNDAY AND ALLOW CIGS TO
RISE A BIT BUT STILL LIKELY STAYING MVFR SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 015 AND
025 AGL. EXCEPTION LOOKS TO BE KONP WHERE IFR MAY PREVAIL ALL DAY
SUNDAY.
KPDX AND APPROACHES...MVFR CONDS TO CONTINUE THOUGH MOST OF
TONIGHT WITH POCKETS OF IFR CIGS AND LONGER PERIODS OF IFR
VSBYS POTENTIAL FOR MARGINAL LLWS 18Z-04Z WITH LIGHT S WINDS AT
SFC AND INCREASING WINDS ABOVE. S SURFACE WINDS INCREASE AFT 04Z
SUN WITH SUSTAINED WINDS 20 TO 25 KT AND GUSTS NEAR 35 KT LIKELY.
WINDS EASE BEHIND THE FRONT WITH SUSTAINED WINDS FALLING BELOW 20
KT AROUND 10Z. CIGS WILL ALSO LIFT AROUND 12 TO 14Z BUT LIKELY
STAY BELOW 040 ALL DAY THUS LIMITING VISUAL APPROACHES. /JBONK
&&
.MARINE...WINDS CONTINUE TO INCREASE REACHING 25 KT THIS AFTERNOON
AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING COLD FRONT. GALE STRENGTH GUSTS
BEGIN OVER THE CENTRAL OREGON WATERS BY LATE AFTERNOON THEN
SPREAD NORTH ACROSS ALL WATERS THIS EVENING.STILL HAVE FAIRLY GOOD
CONFIDENCE IN THE GALES WITH SOME GUSTS PUSHING 50 KT ACROSS THE
OUTER NORTHERN WATERS. COLD FRONT LOOKS TO CROSS THE CENTRAL
WATERS AROUND 6 PM AND THE NORTHERN WATERS AROUND 10 TO MIDNIGHT.
WINDS EASE A BIT OVERNIGHT EVENTUALLY REMAINING ABOVE SMALL
CRAFT ADVISORY CRITERIA THROUGH SUN EVENING OR NIGHT.
SEAS WILL BUILD INTO THE MID TEENS LATER TODAY...AND SHOULD PEAK
IN THE UPPER TEENS LATER TONIGHT. COMBINED SEAS MAY APPROACH 18 TO
2O FT OVER THE EXTREME NORTH OUTER WATERS...AND LIKELY PEAK CLOSER
BETWEEN 16 AND 18 FT ELSEWHERE. SEAS WILL THEN SLOWLY
DECREASE...DROPPING BELOW 10 FT LATE MONDAY NIGHT OR EARLY
TUESDAY. JBONK
&&
.PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 3 AM PST SUNDAY FOR
CENTRAL OREGON COAST-NORTH OREGON COAST.
WA...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM PST SUNDAY FOR
SOUTH WASHINGTON COAST.
PZ...GALE WARNING UNTIL 7 AM PST SUNDAY FOR COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE
SHOALWATER WA TO CASCADE HEAD OR OUT 60 NM.
GALE WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR COASTAL WATERS FROM CASCADE
HEAD OR TO FLORENCE OR OUT 60 NM.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH COLUMBIA RIVER BAR UNTIL 4 PM PST
SUNDAY.
&&
INTERACT WITH US VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSPORTLAND
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.5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A weather station at Timberline recorded gusty winds for around 8 hours. The sustained winds were around 70 mph and a peak gust of 111 mph was measured. The winds periodically gusted above 100 mph.
Sustained winds at Garibaldi, Tillamook, and Pacific City measured 40 to 48 mph with gusts 58 to 60 mph. A National Weather Spotter in Tillamook witnessed these winds toss a large trampoline into a nearby tree.
A peak gust of 99 mph was measured at Mary's Peak with sustained winds of 57 mph. The Rockhouse RAWS station recorded a peak gust of 65 mph.
Several weather stations on the Central Oregon Coast reported gusty winds with the strongest gust of 65 mph measured in Yachats and Gleneden Beach.
The weather station at Mount Hebo measured sustained winds of 49 mph with a peak gust of 81 mph, and sustained winds of 39 mph with a peak gust of 61 mph was measured at Tidewater.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 2015
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: 554051, 554047, 554050, 554048, 554049.