An atmospheric river pushed heavy rain and gusty winds throughout Western Washington causing numerous damage reports as wind advisories and high wind warnings were issued.
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 SEW wrote it up.
An atmospheric river pushed heavy rain and gusty winds throughout Western Washington causing numerous damage reports as wind advisories and high wind warnings were issued.
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 Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 4, 7:56 PM PST, 1 hour 4 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Seattle WA
856 PM PDT Fri Nov 4 2022
.SYNOPSIS...An atmospheric river will bring heavy rain, gusty winds,
mountain snow, and river flooding to the area through early
Saturday. The system will shift south on Saturday with cooler air
moving in on Sunday and lasting through much of next week.
&&
.SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/...Seeing the southward shift in
precipitation on current radar imagery. Taken in its totality, most
activity has generally transitioned to more showery than uniform,
the exceptions being much of Lewis county and along the Cascades
where the back end of the front still lingers. Another concentration
of precip located on the south side of the Olympics. Current obs
show gusty winds still in place over much of the area, however
speeds seem to be gradually diminishing. However, winds in the
Strait continue to be the highest obs on the map, helping to suggest
the post-frontal westerly push is underway. That said, locations in
the Admiralty Inlet area and western Snohomish county may still see
speeds that meet High Wind criteria. As such, inherited headlines
will remain in place.
No evening update to forecast anticipated at this time. For further
forecast details, please refer to the Previous Discussion section
below. 18
From Previous Discussion...An atmospheric river continues to funnel
moderate to locally heavy precipitation across much of the region
this afternoon. Snow levels have risen substantially in the wake of
a warm front that lifted across the area this morning. Winds remain
gusty across much of the interior...especially from the Seattle area
southward where a mesoscale surface low to the lee of the Olympics
is contributing to a pretty tight gradient. A trailing cold front
over the offshore waters will sweep across the region this evening.
3 hour isallobar plots depict some pretty hefty pressure rises in
its wake...especially in the vicinity of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
This will result in a strong westerly wind surge late this evening
through the strait...and high winds of 55 to 60 mph are expected for
areas immediately adjacent to the east entrance of the strait.
Precipitation will begin to wind down overnight gradually from the
north as the front moves through the area. The strong post-frontal
onshore push should get a potent convergence zone going late this
evening, but the strength of the onshore flow could shove it into
the Cascades rather quickly.
Shower activity will continue into Saturday with snow levels
falling to around 2000-2500 feet. Westerly flow aloft will
contribute to some extra orographic lift in the mountains, but
Puget Sound could be rain shadowed for much of the day. High
temperatures will be noticeably cooler with mid and upper 40s
common across the lowlands. A cold upper trough sinking southward
down the British Columbia coast will lead to an increase in
rainfall and mountain snow Saturday night into Sunday. Winter
weather advisory snowfall totals look likely in the
passes...probably in the 7 to 11 inch range for Snoqualmie and
Stevens.
Scattered showers will continue Sunday night into Monday as the
upper trough remains parked just offshore and a filling surface
low tracks toward the mouth of the Columbia. The surface low to
south combined with surface high pressure sinking southward over
the interior of British Columbia will begin to draw some colder
air into the region via Fraser River outflow. There is still
uncertainty regarding any lowland snowfall potential. As is often
the case, there's considerable doubt that much in the way of
moisture will be in place by the time the colder air arrives.
Stay tuned as this remains an evolving situation.
.LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...From Previous
Discussion...Colder and drier conditions are expected later Tuesday
into Wednesday as an upper trough pulls away from the region and
drier northerly flow aloft takes hold.
Overnight lows at or below freezing look likely for much of the
region with lowland high temperatures several degrees below
normal...lower to mid 40s. Weak upper ridging is expected to lead
to continued dry conditions for Thursday along with a slight
moderation in temperature. Forecast confidence falls off pretty
quickly by late next week. Model ensembles are pretty evenly split
between a wet versus dry forecast, but temperatures look to
remain below seasonal normals. 27
&&
.AVIATION...Rain gradually transitioning to more showery, however
some areas of stratiform precip persist in southern and eastern
portions of the CWA as a cold front pushes through the region
tonight. Flow aloft is west to northwesterly. Ceilings remain mostly
IFR to MVFR areawide although some peeks of VFR conditions present
over CLM. VFR conditions becoming more widespread overnight tonight
behind the front. South to southwesterly winds will be peaking this
evening. Winds gusts to 30 to 40 kt will be possible with gusts
closer to 45 to 50 knots closer to the water this evening and into
tonight, however winds will gradually ease during the overnight
period.
KSEA...Cigs around 1200 feet currently and expected to remain
between the 1000-2000 foot range for the remainder of the evening
before improving late tonight. Southerly winds 10 to 25 knots with
gusts 30 to 40 knots possible through 06z. Frontal passage should
restrict the prospect of LLWS, however the prospect may linger
through 06Z, so will keep it in the TAF through then. Cigs lifting
overnight may allow VFR conditions to return.
Kristell/18
&&
.MARINE...A frontal system will continue to impact the area
waters throughout tonight. Gale force winds are expected over the
Coastal waters, Puget Sound waters, and the Northern Interior
waters throughout this evening into early Saturday morning. The
exceptions being the Western Strait, where high-end small craft
advisory winds are being observed.
With the front exiting the area, there will be increasing onshore
flow behind the front this evening by around 03-06Z, yielding a
strong push of westerlies down the Strait of Juan de Fuca. A Storm
Warning remains in effect this evening and into tonight for the
Central and Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Admiralty Inlet
Waters. Winds are expected to be very breezy throughout this time
with gusts up to 50 to 60 kts possible. Winds will remain somewhat
breezy into Saturday, but will gradually subside into Saturday
night.
Another system will then approach the region on Sunday, bringing
the potential for another round of gusty winds for portions of the
north interior waters on Sunday night into Monday. Flow turns
offshore early next week, with guidance coming in stronger on the
potential for Fraser Outflow winds developing Monday into Tuesday.
With the active pattern in place, additional headlines will be
likely for the area waters throughout the weekend and into early
next week.
Seas across the coastal waters will reach around 15 to 20 feet
further offshore by this evening. Seas will then subside slightly
Saturday, but look to remain within the 14 to 18 ft range
throughout the weekend.
Mazurkiewicz/18
&&
.HYDROLOGY...From Previous Discussion...Atmospheric river over
Western Washington will move south out of the area tonight with
another 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain in the Central and Southern
Cascades with much less amounts elsewhere.
Rainfall totals the last 12 hours through mid Friday afternoon
...Olympics 2 to 4 inches...North Cascades 1.5 to 2.5
inches...Central and Southern Cascades 3 to 4.5 inches. For the
lowlands 2 to 3 inches along the coast, 1 to 2 inches over the
Northwest Interior, 1.5 to 3 inches in the Southwest Interior and
in the rain shadow, 0.25 inches or less in the metro area.
Flood warnings are already out for many of the rivers flowing off
the Central Cascades including the Snoqualmie at the Falls, Tolt,
Skykomish, Stillaguamish and the Puyallup. A little further south
a flood warning is in effect for the Carbon River near Fairfax
and in the Olympics a flood warning is up for the Skokomish River.
Additional rivers that will be watched this evening for possible
flood warnings include but are not limited to, the lower reaches
of the Snoqualmie, the Snohomish, the Nisqually and the Cowlitz.
Felton
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Flood Watch through Saturday afternoon for Admiralty Inlet Area-
Bellevue and Vicinity-Central Coast-East Puget Sound
Lowlands-Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca-Everett and
Vicinity-Hood Canal Area-Lower Chehalis Valley Area-North
Coast-Olympics-Seattle and Vicinity-Southwest Interior-
Tacoma Area-West Slopes North Cascades and Passes-West
Slopes North Central Cascades and Passes-West Slopes South
Central Cascades and Passes-Western Skagit County-Western
Strait of Juan De Fuca-Western Whatcom County.
Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Bellevue and
Vicinity-Bremerton and Vicinity-East Puget Sound Lowlands-
Hood Canal Area-Seattle and Vicinity-Southwest Interior-
Tacoma Area.
High Wind Warning until 2 AM PDT Saturday for Admiralty Inlet
Area-Everett and Vicinity.
Winter Weather Advisory from 11 PM PDT Saturday to 4 PM PST
Sunday for West Slopes North Cascades and Passes-West
Slopes North Central Cascades and Passes-West Slopes South
Central Cascades and Passes.
Flash Flood Watch until 2 AM PDT Saturday for West Slopes North
Central Cascades and Passes.
PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 5 PM PDT Saturday for Grays Harbor
Bar.
Small Craft Advisory until 6 AM PDT Saturday for West Entrance
U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca.
Storm Warning until 5 AM PDT Saturday for Admiralty Inlet-
Central U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-East Entrance
U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca.
Gale Warning until midnight PDT tonight for Northern Inland
Waters Including The San Juan Islands.
Small Craft Advisory from midnight tonight to 5 PM PDT Saturday
for Northern Inland Waters Including The San Juan Islands.
Gale Warning until 3 AM PDT Saturday for Puget Sound and Hood
Canal.
Gale Warning until 5 AM PDT Saturday for Coastal Waters From
Cape Flattery To James Island 10 To 60 Nm-Coastal Waters
From Cape Flattery To James Island Out 10 Nm-Coastal Waters
From James Island To Point Grenville 10 To 60 Nm-Coastal
Waters From James Island To Point Grenville Out 10 Nm-
Coastal Waters From Point Grenville To Cape Shoalwater 10
To 60 Nm-Coastal Waters From Point Grenville To Cape
Shoalwater Out 10 Nm.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
527 PM PDT FRI NOV 4 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0526 PM HEAVY RAIN 4 NE TOLEDO 46.49N 122.79W
11/04/2022 M3.55 INCH Lewis WA TRAINED SPOTTER
3.55 INCHES OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS ENDING AT 5 PM.
&&
DANA.FELTON4 strong wind, 1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind damage to a house / debris on the ground due to 50 to 60 mph gusts in result of a the wind storm. Wind advisories and high wind warnings were issued during this time.
Lewis county EM called to say 9 houses were damaged or destroyed from high wind in the Packwood area (High Valley neighborhood).
Fallen tree at Pratt Park in the Central District per photo in social media (Twitter) this aligns with the wind advisory that we had out for the area on Friday night.
Woman critically injured after tree falls onto Marysville home during the windstorm in which we had a high wind warning issued in this area.
Report on social media is as follows:
Vehicle high centered on a tree that fell across Lundeen Park Way just west of highway 9 in Lake Stevens. Driver is uninjured. There was a High Wind Warning that was issued for this location with gusts up to 55 to 60 mph expected.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, November 2022
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: 1068183, 1068184, 1068181, 1068182, 1068082.