A strong cold front and shortwave trough moving across the region Sunday, March 28th produced gusty winds with blowing dust across much of the forecast area. Winds were strong enough to cause power outages in portions of Kennewick, WA, while low visibility from blowing dust contributed to a 7 car accident in Richland, WA.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
A strong cold front and shortwave trough moving across the region Sunday, March 28th produced gusty winds with blowing dust across much of the forecast area. Winds were strong enough to cause power outages in portions of Kennewick, WA, while low visibility from blowing dust contributed to a 7 car accident in Richland, WA.
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 28, 8:29 AM PST, 3 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
929 AM PDT Sun Mar 28 2021
...HIGH WINDS, BLOWING DUST, AND MOUNTAIN SNOW EXPECTED LATER TODAY
THROUGH TONIGHT...
.MORNING UPDATE...
A rather eventful day of weather is expected as a significant
shortwave trough and associated cold front impact the region this
afternoon into tonight. High confidence (90-100% chance) exists
in widespread wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph with a few gusts of 60
to 70 mph also likely (85-95% chance) from the Columbia Basin
east to the Foothills of the Blue Mountains. Overall confidence in
this event stems from analysis of recent HREF and ECMWF ensembles,
which continue to point to a higher end wind event. The EFI from
the ECMWF likewise points to such a scenario with values of 0.90
to 1.0 denoting an anomalously high wind signal as compared to
model climatology. Additionally, shift of tails has increased
across areas of northeast OR and southeast WA to 1 or higher,
indicating that some of the ensemble input indicates the potential
for an extreme event. Winds will begin to increase by the Noon
hour, peaking between 2 PM this afternoon and 5 AM Monday. The
most intense winds appear likely to occur from 4 PM to 10 PM from
the lower Columbia Basin east to the Blue Mountain foothills,
including Tri-Cities, Boardman/Heppner, Pendleton, Walla Walla,
and Dayton. These ares appear most primed to see a few gusts in
the 60-70 mph range as a fast moving front surges through.
Essentially nothing since yesterday has improved in terms of very
strong damaging wind potential this afternoon into tonight and
people should be preparing their homes and securing any outdoor
items that may be toppled or lofted. With winds such as these,
downed trees and power lines will certainly be a possibility in
spite of many trees not yet having their leaves. In addition, with
many fields having been recently plowed, blowing dust will become
a concern with the potential for prolonged blowing dust and
visibility reductions across the lower Columbia Basin east to the
Blue Mountains foothills. Dust may reduce visibility to just a few
hundred yards in some areas, which could result in hazardous
travel. If you are traveling, slow down if you encounter high
winds and/or blowing dust.
As far as the morning update goes, the forecast is largely on
track. A few minor tweaks were made to PoPs, snow amounts and
associated weather grids. Nudged peak winds upward slightly across
the Columbia Basin and Blue Mountains foothills. Otherwise, just
brought in the most recent observations to establish trends. All
existing watches, warnings, and advisories remain unchanged.
&&
.AVIATION...18z TAFs...Strong frontal system will bring gusty winds
to all sites this afternoon through early Monday morning. Winds will
primarily be out of the W/SW, sustained at 25-30 kts and gusting as
high as 50 kts, with locally higher amounts possible. Sites outside
of DLS/RDM/BDN may also experience vsby reductions due to blowing
dust, especially during the strongest winds this afternoon into the
early evening. Some light rain showers possible as the front passes
through, however main impact will be winds and blowing dust. Cloud
cover will be sct-bkn through the period, with cigs around 5-10 kft.
74
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 69 31 51 29 / 0 60 10 0
ALW 69 34 54 31 / 0 60 10 10
PSC 67 35 60 31 / 0 10 0 0
YKM 61 30 58 28 / 20 10 0 0
HRI 70 33 57 31 / 0 40 0 0
ELN 57 28 52 28 / 40 30 0 0
RDM 66 23 47 21 / 0 30 10 0
LGD 65 27 44 26 / 0 80 20 10
GCD 68 26 46 26 / 0 60 20 10
DLS 62 35 54 33 / 40 60 20 0
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Wind Advisory from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT Monday for
ORZ041-505-510-511.
Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 11 AM PDT
Monday for ORZ502.
Blowing Dust Advisory from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT
Monday for ORZ044-507.
High Wind Warning from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT Monday
for ORZ044-507-508.
WA...Wind Advisory from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT Monday for
WAZ024-026-027-521.
Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 11 AM PDT
Monday for WAZ030.
Blowing Dust Advisory from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT
Monday for WAZ028-029.
High Wind Warning from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT Monday
for WAZ028-029.
Winter Weather Advisory from 2 PM this afternoon to 5 AM PDT
Monday for WAZ520.
&&
SHORT TERM...79
LONG TERM....93
AVIATION...74PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1227 PM PDT SUN MAR 28 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1215 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 NW WEST RICHLAND 46.36N 119.46W
03/28/2021 M58 MPH BENTON WA MESONET
MESONET STATION DW9572 BENTON CITY.
&&
JASThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A mesonet station 8 miles SSE of Goldendale, WA measured a non-tstm wind gust of 84 mph at 7:13pm PDT on March 28th. A mesonet station 22 miles NE of Goldendale, WA measured a non-tstm wind gust of 76 mph at 1:56pm PDT on March 28th.
A mesonet station in Benton City, WA measured a non-tstm wind gust of 70 mph at 2:15pm PDT on March 28th. The ASOS KPSC at Tri Cities Airport, WA measured a non-tstm wind gust of 63 mph at 6:41pm PDT on March 28th.
A mesonet station 11 miles SSE of Kahlotus, WA measured a non-tstm wind gust of 59 mph at 7:51pm PDT on March 28th. The ASOS KALW at the Walla Walla Regional Airport measured a non-tstm wind gust of 58 mph at 4:02pm PDT on March 28th.
The ASOS KDLS at the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport, WA measured a non-tstm wind gust of 58 mph at 2:08pm PDT on March 28th. A mesonet station 9 miles E of Bingen, WA measured a non-tstm wind gust of 58 mph at 6:27pm PDT on March 28th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, March 2021
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: 947485, 947486, 947487, 947489.