Strong low pressure system moving up from the south brought high winds to the Coast and Coast Range. The Willamette Valley and Cascade Foothills also saw breezy winds.
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.
Strong low pressure system moving up from the south brought high winds to the Coast and Coast Range. The Willamette Valley and Cascade Foothills also saw breezy winds.
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 Mar 8, 4:06 AM PST, 1 hour 54 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Portland OR
406 AM PST Thu Mar 8 2018
.SYNOPSIS...Wet and blustery weather will prevail today as a low
pressure system moves onshore into the Olympic Peninsula. Winds will
be strongest along the coast and in the Coast Range, but it will be
windy inland as well. Cascade snow accumulations will mostly be
limited to elevations above pass level. Cooler weather, lowering snow
levels, and plenty of showers continue Friday. A few showers are
possible with a warm front Saturday or Saturday night, then southerly
flow aloft may bring the warmest temperatures of the year thus far,
with highs likely reaching the 60s for the lowlands Sunday and
Monday. Rain chances may return by the middle of next week.
&&
.SHORT TERM...Today through Saturday: Infrared satellite imagery
shows a well defined low pressure system centered about 100 miles
west of Tillamook as of 3 AM, heading NE toward the Olympic
Peninsula. This low is well into the occlusion process, having peaked
earlier as it ran over Buoy 46002 with a central pressure of just
under 990 mb. While the low has weakened somewhat due to the
occlusion process, it does appear to have spawned a secondary low
which delayed the weakening trend of the overall complex low system.
This secondary low is pushing somewhat of another frontal system
toward the coast early this morning, which will be responsible for a
wet and blustery day today. 00z NAM/GFS increased the 850/925 mb
winds slightly from previous runs, showing 850 mb winds of 60-70 mph
as the front moves through this morning. Given that this low has gone
through occlusion, expect somewhat better mixing than usual as the
frontal system moves onshore. Therefore we decided to expand the High
Wind Warning past the beaches and headlands, into the coastal
communities and into adjacent Coast Range zones. This low appears to
be destined to make landfall north of Pacific County, so we also
expanded the warning northward to the WFO Seattle border. In general,
the strongest period of winds will likely reach the Oregon coast
early this morning, then spread north and east across the forecast
area as the morning and midday hours progress.
Wind speeds are a challenge not just for the coast, but for the
inland valleys as well. Given the tightly wound "look" of the low
offshore, the fact that most models show 850 mb winds on the order of
55-65 kt, and the midday timing of strongest wind forcing, it will be
quite blustery later this morning through this afternoon for the
Willamette Valley and I-5 corridor in SW WA. Considered issuing a
Wind Advisory for these inland areas, but guidance is fairly staunch
in holding gusts to around 40 mph...just below criteria. If the low
had more of an eastward trajectory, we would almost certainly be
looking at advisory criteria for the inland valleys at least.
But...with the low aiming for the Olympic Peninsula, this will just
be a glancing blow for our inland areas. Precipitation today may also
act to stabilize the air mass slightly, making it a bit more
difficult for the strongest gusts to mix down to the surface while
the winds peak aloft. That said, would not be entirely surprised if
we do see a couple 40-50 mph gusts in some of the windier portions of
the Willamette Valley, especially in exposed terrain such as Chehalem
Mtn and the hills around Salem.
Winds will die down later this afternoon and evening as the low races
NE into British Columbia. Showers will linger through Friday as a
northern stream upper trough keeps flow cyclonic along with some weak
low-level instability. However showers will become increasingly
confined to the higher terrain as Friday progresses and shortwave
ridging develops aloft. This ridging should keep Saturday mostly dry
as well, with perhaps some patchy fog if skies clear enough.
We do have a Winter Weather Advisory hoisted for the S WA Cascades
above 4500 ft elevation through this evening. While there isn't a
whole lot of area in the S WA Cascades zone above 4500 ft, criteria
should easily be met for the mid and upper elevations of Mt St Helens
and Mt Adams, as well as some areas in the Indian Heaven Wilderness.
Will allow the advisory to stand, as it makes a good point that
mountaineering is not recommended until after this storm is over. The
argument may be made that elevations above 5000-5500 ft may need an
advisory in the N OR Cascades, but our confidence in accumulations is
too low below 6000 ft (the top elevation for our forecast zone and
associated warnings and advisories). Being March, the sun is getting
stronger even behind the clouds, and temps in the 5000-6000 ft range
will be marginal for accumulations. Areas above 6000 ft will likely
see all snow, and accumulations will be much higher there than what
is reflected in our zone forecast. Weagle
.LONG TERM...Saturday Night through Wednesday: While there is still
some model disagreement in the details, model consensus seems to be
pointing toward a drier, warmer period Sunday and Monday, which may
last into Tuesday. Agree with previous shift's idea that upper level
ridging will build across the western United States, but the position
of the resulting ridge axis will be key as to whether we see a
slightly milder, showery pattern, or all-out Spring weather with
temps pushing well into the 60s for the inland valleys. Am favoring
the drier/warmer solution, and not just because I'm desperate for
warmth. Feel that downstream features will have a lot of say in where
the ridge axis lies early next week; the next potential East Coast
nor'easter may have a significant impact. Prefer the 00z GFS solution
in the handling of downstream features, mainly since rapidly
intensifying lows tend to curl north, rather than the 00z ECMWF's
idea of keeping Monday's low well off the Eastern Seaboard. This
stronger nor'easter solution would likely amplify the pattern,
creating somewhat of a backup in the flow pattern across the North
America. This would tend to favor a Western ridge axis that is
further west, which would favor warmer and drier weather for us early
next week. That said, even the drier/warmer GFS brushes the Pac NW
coast with northward moving systems, so there will likely be at least
some cloud cover. Therefore we held temps in the lower to mid 60s for
the lowlands despite the fact that 00z GFS 850 mb temps could support
temps near 70 deg F if all went perfectly. All in all, confidence is
fairly high that it will feel at least a little more like spring
Sun/Mon, and there is the potential of it feeling a lot more like
spring. Weagle
&&
.AVIATION...A strong low pressure system will move up the coast
over the offshore waters today. This will bring increasing rain
and gusty southerly winds across the fcst area this morning, with
impacts continuing through much of the day. Cigs remain fairly
high at 12Z, but expect MVFR conditions will begin to spread
onto the coast later this morning, then push into the interior
lowlands during the afternoon. The winds look to be the biggest
impact with this system. The coast can expect gusts in the 40 to
45 kt range at times, mainly during the late morning and early
afternoon hours. The interior lowlands will become gusty in the
afternoon as well, with gusts in the 25 to 35 kt range expected.
Rain will taper to showers this evening, with winds gradually
subsiding. Expect predominantly MVFR cigs to start the night, but
some VFR will likely mix in as the night progresses.
PDX AND APPROACHES...VFR conditions to persist through the
morning. Light rain will develop by mid-morning, then increase by
midday. Southerly winds gusting 30 to 35 kt also expected to
develop after 18Z. Expect MVFR cigs to move in at some point in
the afternoon. Rain will taper to showers and winds will
gradually subside this evening. Expect MVFR conditions to
gradually trend toward VFR later in the evening. Pyle
&&
.MARINE...A strong, but occluding low pressure system is centered
near 45N/128W as of 4 AM. This low will gradually fill as it
lifts northward through this morning, before it pushes onshore
somewhere along the Olympic Peninsula to the southern end of
Vancouver Island this afternoon. A core of strong winds on the SE
quadrant of the low will move through the waters today, bringing
a period of sustained solid to high-end gale force southerly
winds. The strongest winds will be through the morning hours,
when gusts of 40 to 45 kt are expected. There may even be some
isolated gusts to 50 kt, but think that they will be infrequent
enough that a gale warning should suffice. The winds will shift
to the SW this afternoon and begin to gradually subside. Winds
should drop below gale force by late afternoon as the surface low
moves onshore and continues to weaken.
Seas are beginning to respond to the increasing winds this
morning. Expect that we will see seas into the mid to upper teens
by mid-morning, with a peak during the late morning and afternoon
around 20 ft. The seas will be mainly wind wave and fresh swell
driven, with periods of 10 to 12 seconds. Once the winds subside,
seas should drop off pretty quickly tonight. They will likely
remain above 10 ft through at least midnight, but should drop
below 10 ft again overnight.
The winds will drop quickly overnight as weak high pressure
begins to build back over the waters. Then expect benign winds
and seas Fri through the weekend. Offshore flow is modeled to
develop by Sat and continue into Mon. More active weather likely
returns sometime in the first half of next week. Pyle
&&
.PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...High Wind Warning from 8 AM this morning to 6 PM PST this
evening for Central Coast Range of Western Oregon-Coast
Range of Northwest Oregon.
High Wind Warning until 3 PM PST this afternoon for Central
Oregon Coast.
High Wind Warning from 8 AM this morning to 3 PM PST this
afternoon for North Oregon Coast.
WA...High Wind Warning from 10 AM this morning to 6 PM PST this
evening for South Washington Coast-Willapa Hills.
Winter Weather Advisory from 7 AM this morning to 10 PM PST
this evening for South Washington Cascades.
PZ...Gale Warning until 4 PM PST this afternoon for Waters from Cape
Shoalwater WA to Florence OR from 10 to 60 NM.
Gale Warning until 6 PM PST this evening for Coastal Waters
from Cape Shoalwater WA to Florence OR out 10 NM.
Small Craft Advisory for Rough Columbia River Bar until 1 AM
PST Friday.
&&
&&
.PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...High Wind Warning from 8 AM to 3 PM PST Thursday for Central
Oregon Coast-North Oregon Coast.
WA...Winter Weather Advisory from 7 AM to 10 PM PST Thursday for
South Washington Cascades.
PZ...Gale Warning from 7 PM this evening to 4 PM PST Thursday for
Waters from Cape Shoalwater WA to Florence OR from 10 to
60 NM.
Small Craft Advisory for Rough Columbia River Bar from 4 AM to
3 PM PST Thursday.
Gale Warning from 4 AM to 7 PM PST Thursday for Coastal Waters
from Cape Shoalwater WA to Florence OR out 10 NM.
&&
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. This area is
commonly referred to as the CWA or forecast area.4 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Oregon DOT weather station on Yaquina Bridge reported wind gusts up to 70 mph. Several other weather stations right along the coast in Yachats and Newport reported wind gusts up to 60 to 66 mph.
A weather station on Mt Hebo reported wind gusts up to 65 mph.
Wind blew over a 100 foot cedar tree, which fell onto a house in Estacada.
A weather station at Pacific City reported wind gusts up to 69 mph. Another weather station in Tillamook reported wind gusts up to 60 mph.
Rockhouse RAWS reported wind gusts up to 74 mph, with sustained winds up to 46 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, March 2018
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: 745119, 745120, 745132, 745117, 745121.