Washington, 2015

Heavy Rain and Strong Wind in Washington, October 10, 2015

October 10, 2015 · NWS SEW · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A landslide closed southbound Schuster Parkway in Tacoma on the afternoon of Oct 10th after a burst of heavy rain moved through Pierce County. The heavy rain and wind also caused sporadic power outages and some spinouts elsewhere in Pierce County.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
2
Property damage
$120,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

A landslide closed southbound Schuster Parkway in Tacoma on the afternoon of Oct 10th after a burst of heavy rain moved through Pierce County. The heavy rain and wind also caused sporadic power outages and some spinouts elsewhere in Pierce County. A part of I-705 was also closed at South 11th Street due to flooding.

Runoff from the heavy rainfall overwhelmed drainage systems near Tacoma's Stadium High School resulting water and debris running through the campus and tumbling into and flooding the football field.

In addition, wind knocked down tree limbs onto a soccer field near Meeker Middle School, injuring an adult and two kids. All were okay after receiving medical care.

In Shoreline, the heavy rainfall caused a section of concrete to give way in the tunnel leading to a Metro bus barn under the I-5 HOV lanes between 165th and 175th Streets. Repairs to those lanes were completed two days later.

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 Oct 9, 2:55 PM PST, 17 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 9, 2:55 PM PST, 17 hours 5 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy rain, 2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Pierce

When
October 10, 8:00 AM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where
Pierce County, 2 mi S of Tacoma
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
47.201, -122.450

A landslide closed southbound Schuster Parkway in Tacoma on the afternoon of Oct 10th after a burst of heavy rain moved through Pierce County. The heavy rain and wind also caused sporadic power outages and some spinouts elsewhere in Pierce County. A part of I-705 was also closed at South 11th Street due to flooding.

Runoff from the heavy rainfall overwhelmed drainage systems near Tacoma's Stadium High School resulting water and debris running through the campus and tumbling into and flooding the football field.

Strong Wind, Tacoma Area

When
October 10, 10:00 AM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where
Tacoma Area forecast zone
Measured
41 kt (47 mph) measured gust
Injuries
2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
Newspaper

Wind knocked down tree limbs onto a soccer field near Meeker Middle School, injuring an adult and two kids. Several thousand people lost power.

Strong Wind, East Puget Sound Lowlands

When
October 10, 10:00 AM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where
East Puget Sound Lowlands forecast zone
Measured
41 kt (47 mph) measured gust
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
Newspaper

Trees were down in Covington. About 20000 people in the region lost power.

Heavy Rain, King

When
October 10, 11:00 AM PST to 6:00 PM PST
Where
King County, 10 mi N of Seattle
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
Newspaper
Coordinates
47.745, -122.300

In Shoreline, heavy rainfall caused a section of concrete to give way in the tunnel leading to a Metro bus barn under the I-5 HOV lanes between 165th and 175th Streets. Repairs to those lanes were completed two days later.

What these are

Heavy Rain
Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, October 2015

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 606015, 606310, 606311, 606016.