Yet Another Powerful Storm Batters Northwest
Posted: 22-NOV-2009 4:38pm EST
Another powerful storm blasted the Pacific Northwest with high winds, heavy rain and mountain snow Saturday night into Sunday. Winds gusted up to 80 mph across the coast of Washington and Oregon
and between 50 and 60 mph across areas farther inland, including in Portland and Salem.
The winds took down trees, tree limbs and created power outages in several communities. Thousands were without power even in downtown Portland and Salem. Rainfall totals across these lower
elevations to the west of the Cascades reached 1 to 2 inches in some areas by Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, heavy snow fell in the Cascades, impacting some of the major passes including Snoqualmie and Stevens. Even elevations as low as 2,600 feet, such as Malott, Wash., were reporting at
least half a foot of snow Sunday morning. Snow was also falling at lower elevations east of the Cascades, such as Spokane and Wenatchee, Wash., and even Boise, Idaho.
The following is a list of peak wind gusts reported Saturday night into Sunday morning across western parts of Washington and Oregon:
- Florence, Ore. (15 mi. N): 80 mph
- Newport, Ore.: 70 mph
- Cape Foulweather, Ore.: 78 mph
- Gleneden Beach, Ore.: 81 mph
- Astoria, Ore.: 73 mph
- Oysterville, Wash. (1 mi. SW): 85 mph
- Waldport, Ore. (2 mi. NNW): 71 mph
- Salem, Ore.: 48 mph
- Portland, Ore.: 51 mph
- Orchards, Wash.: 60 mph
- Long Beach, Wash.: 65 mph
Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Heather Buchman
Get expert analysis from senior meteorologists Henry Margusity and Joe Lundberg, plus expanded forecast and radar features.
National Summary
Yet another powerful storm blasted the Pacific Northwest with high
winds, heavy rain and mountain snow Saturday night into Sunday. Winds
gusted up to 80 mph across the coast of Washington and Oregon and
between 50 and 60 mph across areas farther inland, including in
Portland and Salem. The winds took down trees, tree limbs and created
power outages in several communities. Thousands were without power
even in downtown Portland and Salem. Rainfall totals across these
lower elevations to the west of the Cascades reached 1- to- 2 inches
in some areas by this morning. Heavy snow fell in the Cascades,
impacting some of the major passes including Snoqualmie and Stevens.
Even elevations as low as 2,600 feet, such as Malott, Wash., were
reporting at least half a foot of snow this morning. Snow was also
falling at lower elevations east of the Cascades, such as Spokane and
Wenatchee, Wash., and even Boise, Idaho. Elsewhere across the
country, the same storm that brought flooding rain to coastal Texas
Friday continued moving northeastward along the Gulf Coast over the
weekend. The storm's heaviest rain spread through parts of Alabama,
northern Florida and Georgia Saturday night into Sunday morning. By
midday, some heavy rain was also reaching southeastern Tennessee and
southern South Carolina. A cold front moving across the Midwest
brought a bit of drizzle to parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri.
Much of the rest of the nation remained dry through this morning.
Special Weather
Santa Ana Winds Cause Massive Damage
On this day in 1957, destruction continued from a strong Santa Ana
wind event that kicked up on Nov. 21. Massive damage stretched from
Oxnard to San Diego. People were kept off streets in some areas due
to flying debris. In addition to causing damage and sending dangerous
debris flying, the winds also quickly spread a brush fire across a
40-mile front west of Crystal Lake. The blaze consumed 28,000 acres.
Daily Extremes (Past 24 Hours)
National High: 85° F at
Tamiami, FL
National Low: -1° F at
Big Piney, WY
National High Precipitation: 3.19" at
Apalachicola, FL
Today in History
Austin, TX (1937)
9.7-inch snowfall -- maximum 24 hour-snowfall and maximum for one season. This was the only snow Austin had all season.
Wisconsin/IL (1989)
Snow squalls with thunder and lightning at Milwaukee, where 9 inches fell. Eleven inches fell at Waukegan and 2.1 inches at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.
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