Strong pressure gradients set up along the Blue Mountain Foothills, allowing for strong downslope winds mainly along the base of the foothills. Some wind speeds in MPH are listed as followed: (67) 5 miles ESE of Dixie, and (51) 4 miles ESE of Walla Walla.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
Strong pressure gradients set up along the Blue Mountain Foothills, allowing for strong downslope winds mainly along the base of the foothills. Some wind speeds in MPH are listed as followed: (67) 5 miles ESE of Dixie, and (51) 4 miles ESE of Walla Walla.
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 Mar 5, 9:49 PM PST, 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
949 PM PST SAT MAR 5 2016
UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION
.SHORT TERM...EVENING UPDATE...THE LATEST PACIFIC SYSTEM CONTINUES
TO MOVE THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THIS EVENING. A BROAD AREA OF
SHOWERS EXTENDS FROM CENTRAL AND SOUTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON SOUTHEAST
INTO EAST-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST OREGON. HEAVIEST PRECIP WITHIN THIS
AREA IS OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON WHERE UPSLOPE
AFFECTS ARE ENHANCING THE PRECIP. A NARROW SECONDARY BAND OF SHOWERS
IS MOVING INTO THE OREGON AND SOUTHERN WASHINGTON CASCADES. THERE IS
A BRIEF BREAK BETWEEN THE MAIN AREA AND THE SECONDARY BAND. ANOTHER
AREA OF PRECIP CONTINUES OVER SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH-CENTRAL OREGON.
SOME OF THIS PRECIP IS STILL EXPECTED TO LIFT NORTHEAST TOWARDS OUR
EASTERN ZONES OVERNIGHT. WINDS HAVE BEEN BREEZY FOR THE MOST PART IN
THE AREAS WITH ADVISORIES AND WARNINGS. LOCALLY STRONG WINDS HAVE
BEEN OCCURRING EAST-NORTHEAST OF PENDLETON AT THE FOOT OF THE BLUES.
ALSO WIND GUSTS AROUND 50 MPH HAVE BEEN OCCURRING IN THE JOSEPH AREA
IN WALLOWA COUNTY. WILL CONTINUE THE CURRENT WIND ADVISORIES AND
WARNINGS FOR NOW. AT THIS TIME IT LOOKS LIKE THE CENTRAL OREGON
WIND ADVISORY SHOULD BE ABLE TO DROP AT 10 PM. 90
.LONG TERM...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...A SERIES OF STORMS WILL MOVE
THROUGH WASHINGTON AND OREGON BRINGING ABUNDANT RAINFALL AND
MOUNTAIN SNOW. AN OCCLUDED FRONT WILL CROSS THE CASCADES TUESDAY
EVENING WITH A WARM FRONT LIFTING SLOWLY NORTH ACROSS THE REGION
WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL BRING ABUNDANT RAINFALL AND GUSTY SOUTH WINDS
TO THE REGION. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE 2500-4000 FEET TUESDAY
NIGHT...BUT RISE ABOVE 5000 FEET BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A WEAK COLD
FRONT WILL CROSS THE AREA ON THURSDAY WITH A CONTINUED THREAT FOR
SHOWERS AND SNOW LEVELS LOWERING TO 3500-5000 FEET. ANOTHER STORM
WILL MOVE THROUGH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH MORE RAIN AND SNOW ABOVE
4000 FEET. HIGH TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE MOSTLY IN
THE 50S LOWER ELEVATIONS AND MID 30S TO MID 40S MOUNTAINS.
&&
.AVIATION...06Z TAFS...VFR CONDITIONS ARE MAINLY EXPECTED THROUGH
THE NEXT 24 HOURS. MVFR CIGS AT KYKM DUE TO RAIN SHOWERS WILL
GRADUALLY BREAK UP AS WEST WINDS INCREASE THROUGH 06/10 UTC.
ELSEWHERE CIGS WILL MAINLY RUN BETWEEN 5000 AND 12000 FT MSL. ALL
SITES WILL SEE SHOWERS AT TIMES, ESPECIALLY EARLY IN THIS PERIOD.
VICINITY SHOWERS WILL BE MORE PREVALENT DURING THE DAY SUNDAY. WINDS
WILL BE BREEZY AT MOST SITES. DIRECTIONS WILL GENERALLY FAVOR
SOUTHEAST TO SOUTH INITIALLY, BUT THEN BECOME MORE SOUTHWEST TO WEST.
90
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 44 58 37 51 / 80 50 40 30
ALW 50 58 40 55 / 90 60 30 30
PSC 51 61 40 55 / 90 20 40 30
YKM 43 58 34 54 / 90 30 50 40
HRI 48 61 39 52 / 80 30 40 30
ELN 41 54 31 49 / 100 40 50 40
RDM 39 53 30 49 / 70 40 50 30
LGD 44 53 33 50 / 90 60 30 40
GCD 43 51 34 48 / 90 50 40 30
DLS 44 58 38 54 / 90 50 50 40
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR ORZ507-508.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM PST SUNDAY FOR ORZ049.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR ORZ511.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 AM PST SUNDAY FOR ORZ050.
WA...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST SUNDAY FOR WAZ029.
&&
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
90/76/90The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, March 2016
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: 623432.