Ridge of high pressure brought a couple days of warm weather. While air temperatures were warm, river and lake temperatures were still cold, leading to two drownings across the area.
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.
Ridge of high pressure brought a couple days of warm weather. While air temperatures were warm, river and lake temperatures were still cold, leading to two drownings across the area.
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, 8:08 AM PST, 3 hours 52 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Portland OR
908 AM PDT Mon May 22 2017
.SYNOPSIS...Today will be much warmer than normal. Increasing onshore
flow will usher in cooler temperatures on Tuesday, and stratus into
the interior Tuesday night. Clouds linger into the afternoon
Wednesday. Morning clouds and afternoon sunshine will be the pattern
Thursday through Saturday with seasonable temperatures. Minor threat
of showers for Wednesday through Friday, but mainly over higher
terrain. Mild and dry weather for next weekend.
&&
.SHORT TERM...Today through Wednesday...Made no changes to the short
term forecast. High pressure and light east winds combined with a
thermal trough slowly moving across the Willamette Valley will result
in hot weather today. Inland temperatures will peak around 90 and
coastal temperatures in the mid 70s. ~TJ
Previous discussion from 303 AM follows...Approaching upper level
trough over the Gulf of Alaska will drop approach the region Tue.
Thermal trough which lies over the Willamette Valley today and
tonight will shift east of the Cascades in the afternoon as the upper
trough approaches. This will result in increasing onshore flow during
the day, especially in the afternoon. This will bring increasing
marine stratus to the Washington coast later in the morning, with
these clouds pushing southward along the coast in the afternoon and
evening. Will also see somewhat breezy northwesterly winds later in
the afternoon across the interior.
Now, the onshore winds will be strong enough to knock down
temperatures across the interior, with highs down some 10 to 15 from
Cowlitz Valley south to Portland/Vancouver metro. But to south, will
see temperatures still get into the lower and middle 80s, mainly from
Salem southward where the onshore flow and cooling will take til
later in the day to reach those areas.
As the upper trough settles into the region on Tue night and Wed,
will see plenty of clouds as the marine layer deepens. Likely to see
occasional drizzle north of a Newport to Mt Hood line later Tue night
into Wed am, especially on western slopes. Suspect Wed will be a lot
like this past Sat, with clouds gradually breaking up in the
afternoon. Will be a lot cooler compared to today, with highs mostly
in the 60s up to 70. With the upper trough around, can not rule out a
few showers in the afternoon, but think that threat mainly over
Willapa Hills/N Coast Range, and high Cascades. Rockey.
.LONG TERM...No Changes. Previous discussion follows...Wednesday
night through Sunday. A shortwave upper trough will continue a marine
influence Wednesday night through Thursday maintaining near normal
temperatures and the possibility for afternoon showers over the
higher terrain. An upper level ridge builds over the NE Pacific
Friday and begins to move inland Friday afternoon. The upper ridge
will then hold over the region for the holiday weekend for a return
of seasonally warm temperatures. ~TJ
&&
.AVIATION...VFR with increasing very high clouds for the next 24
hours. The coast, however, will likely see LIFR fog/stratus
developing after 23/08z and continuing through at least 23/18z
as winds start turning persistently onshore. Coastal seabreeze
will also bring gusts 20-25 kt this afternoon and early evening.
KPDX AND APPROACHES...No impacts to VFR approaches the next 24
hours. /JBonk
&&
.MARINE... No changes. Previous discussion follows. Summer-like
pattern continues with high pres over the NE Pacific and a
thermally- induced surface trough over N Calif and S Oregon.
While small craft advisories remain in effect beyond 10 nm from
the Coast through tonight, as winds ramp back up later today will
see winds increase along the Coast back to 20 to 25 kt as well.
A cold front is expected to drop southeast to south and Tue and
should reach the northern waters by Tue afternoon. This will
result in an increased NW wind, but still at small craft
advisory speeds. Expect wind speeds to diminish late Wed. Longer
range guidance shows lighter wind speeds Wed night through the
weekend.
Seas today will be primarily wind-wave driven or fresh swell.
Wave heights remain around 5 to 6 ft through the day today, but
will be fairly steep due to short wave periods. Seas gradually
ramp up Tue and Wed with a northwesterly fetch moving into the
waters associated with the aforementioned frontal system. Seas
likely to reach 10 ft across the north waters late Tue night and
Wed. Seas then subside to well below 10 ft late in the week and
through the weekend. -McCoy/Pyle
&&
.PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...None.
WA...None.
PZ...Small Craft Advisory for winds until 11 PM PDT this evening for
Waters from Cape Shoalwater WA to Florence OR from 10 to
60 nm.
Small Craft Advisory for winds until 11 PM PDT this evening for
Coastal Waters from Cape Shoalwater WA to Florence OR out
10 nm.
&&
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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.2 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Temperatures climbed up into the upper 80s to low 90s in many locations across the area. One local swimmer drowned seeking relief from the heat in a mountain lake.
Early season heat led people to seek relief in local rivers and lakes. One swimmer drowned at High Rocks Park.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat, North Oregon Cascades | 2017-05-22 | 25 | Male | In Water | Indirect |
| Heat, Greater Portland Metro Area | 2017-05-23 | 19 | Male | In Water | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, May 2017
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: 704618, 704627.