A young girl playing on the beach was swept into deep water likely by a rip current and drowned.
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 young girl playing on the beach was swept into deep water likely by a rip current and drowned.
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 May 22, 1:20 PM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Portland OR 220 pM PDT Sun May 22 2016 .SYNOPSIS...An upper level low pressure system will gradually release its grip on the Pacific NW early this week with a weak ridgeof high pres moving in by midweek. This will result in a decrease in shower activity through Wed. A new trough of low pres will drop down into the region from the nnw late in the week, resulting in an increase in chances for showers again towards the end of the week. && .SHORT TERM (Today through Tuesday)...The broad upper low seen in satellite imagery over the Pacific NW is expected to shift slowly s and eastward over the next couple of days, allowing weak ridging to nudge in from the w. ridging aloft will tend to further stabilize the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere, but a low level onshore flow will keep a moist marine air mass in place. Model forecast soundings generally agree in keeping air mass under about 1200 ft conditionally unstable through mon, so will keep chance pops going through mon. Tue and Wed models are a little less unstable looking, but qpf fields continue to suggest some light precipitation is possible with the onshore flow. Prefer to keep pops generally limited to slight chances for Tue and Wed, mainly in orographic favored areas, except during peak heating hours in the afternoon. Daytime temps through the early part of the week expected to remain near to a little below normal with the marine air mass. .LONG TERM...Wednesday night through Sunday. Little change to the forecast for the second half of the week with the overall trend of cooler conditions and rounds of showers continuing for much of next week. Zonal flow aloft will prevail late Wednesday night through early Thursday, but the next significant upper level low approaches and moves through the Pacific Northwest later Thursday and Friday. This will maintain continued showers across the region as well as cooler temperatures. Still plenty of possibilities for the track and evolution of this upper low, with the ECMWF continuing to support a more inland track and faster evolution of the pattern, while the GFS favors a slower, deeper system that remains over the region through most of the holiday weekend. With NAEFS ensemble members still showing significant spread for next weekend, continued the forecast to represent a compromise of these possible timings. Confidence is particularly low in the details for next Saturday night and Sunday with the model spread getting quite large. /Cullen && .AVIATION...Broad upper level low will continue to be the dominant weather feature over the next 24 hrs. Generally a mix of MVFR and VFR along the coast and interior lowlands this afternoon, with MVFR or worse conditions for the Cascades. Shower coverage has increased since 18Z and will continue to do over the next few hours coincident with maximum afternoon heating and added support from an upper level disturbance. Expect the typical shower pattern through 03Z or so, which is mainly VFR with localized MVFR in heavier showers, then more dominant VFR 03Z through 18Z Mon. Cascades likely to remain obscured through Mon morning. KPDX AND APPROACHES...Expect VFR through 18Z Mon, with brief periods of MVFR possible through about 03Z Mon in heavier showers. Higher chance of MVFR conditions west of the terminal, such as KHIO. Weishaar && .MARINE...Latest models remain consistent with previous runs showing a gradual increase in South to Southwest wind today. Higher-resolution models have keyed on the development of a coastal jet type feature over the inner waters today and continue with that theme through early Mon morning. Will keep gusts below small craft advisory thresolds, but there is the potential for a few 25 kt gusts through the evening. High pressure starts to spread into the waters from the west Mon and holds through at least mid- week. NW to N wind may occasionally gust to 25 kt over the outer waters Tue through Thu. 12Z GFS, ECMWF, and GEM are in a little better agreement for the Fri through Sun time frame, which would mean a continued NW to N wind pattern over the waters. Wave heights are running around 5 to 6 ft and should remain fairly steady through the end of the week. Spectral analysis indicates new fresh swell generation Mon, and continuing to be the dominant feature through at least Fri. Overall wave heights remain well under 10 ft for the next few days. Weishaar && .PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...None. WA...None. PZ...None. && 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.
1 rip current. Local standard time, as filed.
A young girl was playing on the beach and ended up in deep water. No one witnessed how the girl was swept into the ocean, but it is most likely due to a rip current. She was found 500 feet from the shore and was in the water for around 30 minutes.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rip Current, South Coast | 2016-05-22 | 12 | Female | In Water | Direct |
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, May 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: 635797.