1981 — Nov 13-15, Windstorms, Pacific Northwest, especially OR/10 and WA/5 — 15
— 15 Blanchard tally of fatalities by State noted below
— 12 NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 23, No. 11, November 1981, p. 5.
— 11 National Weather Service Forecast Office, Portland, OR. Some of the Area’s Windstorms.
Oregon (10)
–10 Blanchard tally of fatalities based on locality breakouts below.
— 7 NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 23, No. 11, November 1981, p. 6.
— 2 Clackamas/Washington/Multnomah Co., Nov 14am. NCDC. Storm Data, 23/11, Nov 1981, 12.
— 4 Coos County, Nov 13 evening. NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 23, No. 11, Nov 1981, p. 12.
— 1 Lincoln County, Tillicum Beach State Park, Nov 13-14. Male; wind blew tree onto trailer.[1]
— 1 Linn County, Albany, Nov 14. Male, 53; tree fell through his mobile home as he slept.[2]
— 1 Washington Co.. Nov 14. Male, 50, electrocuted when he picked up downed power line.[3]
— 1 Off OR coast, Nov 14. Coast Guard pilot when his helicopter crashed in 60-knot winds.[4]
Washington ( 5)
–5 NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 23, No. 11, November 1981, pp. 6 & 13.
–1 Auburn, Nov 14-15. Male when tree fell through his bedroom while he slept.
–1 Bellevue, Nov 14-15. Male crushed when tree fell on his tent.
–1 Maury Island, Nov 13. Electrocution; man, 69, tried to move downed power line.[5]
–2 Mukilteo, Nov 14-15. Drownings; two men blown from their boat; sailing race.
Narrative Information
NCDC: “Pacific Northwest Cyclones on November 13-15. A strong mid-latitude cyclone formed over the Pacific Ocean about 1000 miles west of San Francisco, Ca. and intensified rapidly while approaching the Oregon coast. The once in 20 year storm, reaching a minimum pressure of 956 mb at 1800 PST on Friday the 13th produced statewide damaging winds in Oregon and Washington. A second cyclone, which followed the first some 36 hours later, deepened to a 988 mb minimum pressure….
“As it passed near the coast, the accompanying winds caused widespread damage and 12 deaths, 7 in Oregon and 5 in Washington. Strong winds were also encountered in northern California, and as much as 4 feet of snow fell in the Sierra Nevadas….
“In Seattle, spray from Lake Washington was blown over the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge by the strong winds. The bridge sustained $300,000 to $400,000 damage and was closed for 11 hours as the winds, funneled by the lake shores, gusted to 75 mph.” (NCDC, NOAA. Storm Data, Vol. 23, No. 11, Nov 1981, pp. 4-6.)
NWS Weather Forecast Office, Portland, OR: “November 13-15, 1981
“The strongest wind storm since the infamous Columbus Day storm of 1962 struck the Pacific Northwest with a one-two punch combination. The first punch was delivered Friday, November 13, and early Saturday, November 14, when an intense low-pressure area tracked northward 150 to 200 miles west of the Oregon coast. The central pressure of the low was 958 millibars (mb), 2 mb lower than the 1962 storm, but the storm track was about 90 miles farther west of the 1962 storm track. The second punch was delivered on Sunday, November 15, when a second somewhat weaker low pressure area following a track similar to the first storm caused strong winds over the area again. These winds occurred as people were still recovering from the effects of the first storm.
“Strong winds spread into the Pacific Northwest from the south the evening of Friday, November 13. Wind gusts as high as 75 mph and 62 mph were observed at Brookings and Medford, respectively. North Bend recorded gusts to 92 mph, the strongest official wind gust of the storm. An unofficial report of gust above 100 mph were recorded by an anemometer located at the Whiskey Run wind generator site owned by Pacific Power and Light Company in Curry county, Oregon from 9 pm PST to midnight. Other significant recorded wind gusts were: Coos Bay with 40 mph, Chetco River 75 mph, Eugene 58 mph, Salem and Portland both with 71 mph. Winds spread in Washington during the morning of November 14. Hoquiam reported wind gusts to 70 mph, Seattle to 67 mph, and Olympia to 64 mph. Strong winds also spread as far east as Boise and Reno, where gusts to near 100 mph were reported.
“The second storm spread winds to near 60 mph along the Oregon coast beginning Saturday morning, November 15. Portland recorded wind gusts to 57 mph, Boeing Field near Seattle had wind gusts to 48 mph, SEA-TAC airport had gusts to 51 mph, and Olympia airport had wind gusts to 58 mph.
“The November 13-14 storm did the most damage. However, the one-two punch of the two storms resulted in more damage from the weaker, second storm than normally would have been expected. Eleven people were killed and $50 million in damage were reported as a result of the two wind storms. This compares to 38 fatalities and damage in excess of $200 million for the 1962 Columbus Day storm.
“The fatalities attributed indirectly to the first storm included a 53 year old Albany, Oregon man, who was crushed when a tree fell on his mobile home; a 50 year old Portland man was electrocuted when he picked up a live wire that had fallen across his driveway; a 64 year old man who suffered a heart attack and died while crawling out of the wreckage of his trailer at Tillicum Beach State Park after a tree had fallen on it; and a Coast Guard pilot was killed when his helicopter crashed off the Oregon coast in 60 mph winds while searching for a missing fishing boat. Many other deaths occurred in traffic and boating accidents.
“Numerous injuries resulted from wind-blown debris in western Washington and Oregon. Damage was widespread, including hundreds of downed trees and power lines across the Pacific Northwest. Roof damage was common. For example, on November 14, winds ripped of the 2,500 square feet roof of the Homestead Restaurant in North Bend, Oregon. Downed power lines caused massive power outages. Estimates indicated that nearly 500,000 homes were without power for at least a short time during the weekend. Damage to standing timber was extensive from Washington to northern California. In northern California, winds toppled a dozen five-feet thick redwood trees across U.S. 101, blocking traffic for hours.
“Bridges also took a beating during the storm. The Columbia River bridge at Astoria was closed at 2:45 pm Saturday because of high winds. The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge on Lake Washington in Seattle was closed at 8:00 am Saturday because of high winds and water flowing into traffic lines. The bridge experienced extensive damage to anchor cables and wave deflectors.
“There was also considerable damage to marine interests from both strong winds and wave action. At Newport, Oregon, several fishing boats broke their moorings and were beached, while a 300 foot dock broke away and was totally destroyed. According to port officials, damage estimates at Newport reached nearly $3 million. In Seattle, Saturday morning’s high winds pushed an anchored freighter several miles across Elliott Bay. It was finally intercepted by tug boats, within 20 feet of destroying a downtown pier. At the Port of Portland, a 1,100 foot tanker broke loose and bumped another ship moored nearby. Port spokesperson said the ship’s bow line broke, allowing it to swing out “like a big steel sail.” Olympia’s West Bay Marina was heavily damaged with estimates well over $1 million. Four hundred and fifty boats were in the marina before the storm struck. After the storm, some boats were blown from their moorings and found as far away as 10 miles to the north.
“Many airports across Oregon and Washington suffered damage. At the Hillsboro airport, one airplane was flipped upside down and several hangers were damaged. Three light planes at Salem’s McNary Field were damaged by winds that flipped them on their backs Friday night….” (National Weather Service Forecast Office, Portland, OR. Some of the Area’s Windstorms. )
Sources
Associated Press (Jane See White). “6 killed, 6 missing as storms lash East, West coasts.” The Register, Orange County, CA, 11-15-1981, A2. Accessed 5-23-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/santa-ana-orange-county-register-nov-15-1981-p-2/?tag
National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 23, No. 11, November 1981. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA, 22 pages. Accessed 5-23-2017 at: https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/sd/sd.html?_finish=0.2826125272316621
National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, Portland, OR. Some of the Area’s Windstorms. Accessed 11-12-2009 at: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/paststorms/wind.php
Sistek, Scott. “Remembering the great Friday the 13th storm of 1981.” KOMO News, Seattle, 11-13-2010. Accessed 5-24-2017 at: http://komonews.com/weather/scotts-weather-blog/summer-forecast-in-the-northwest-trending-hot-again
[1] AP (Jane See White). “6 killed, 6 missing as storms lash East, West coasts.” The Register, Orange County, CA, 11-15-1981, A2. Notes that the Salem, OR, victim died when “the winds felled a tree on his camping trailer.” The NCDC, at p. 12, simply notes a Lincoln County fatality, without details. Identifies victim as Floyd W. Russell who apparently died from a heart attack trying to get out of the crushed trailer. Also: NWS WFO Portland. Some of the Area’s Windstorms.
[2] AP (Jane White). “6 killed, 6 missing as storms lash East, West coasts.” The Register, Orange County, CA, 11-15-1981, A2. Victim identified as Grady E. Scarborough. Also: NWS WFO Portland. Some of the Area’s Windstorms.
[3] AP (Jane See White). “6 killed, 6 missing as storms lash East, West coasts.” The Register, Orange County, CA, 11-15-1981, A2. Washington County is, as the article notes, to the west of Portland. Article notes the “live wire…had fallen across his driveway” and that “The jolt knocked him into a ditch filled with water.” NWS WFO Portland refers to this as “a 50 year old Portland man was electrocuted when he pickup up a live wire that had fallen across his driveway.” (Some of the Area’s Windstorms.)
[4] AP (Jane White). “6 killed, 6 missing as storms lash East, West coasts.” The Register, Orange County, CA, 11-15-1981, A2. Writes that the pilot was searching for a missing fishing boat; copter went down in 30-foot seas. Victim was identified as Capt. Frank W. Olson, 44, commander of the North Beach, OR Coast Guard air station. Another source notes that there were three aboard the helicopter and all initially survived the crash. Capt. Olson, however, had been knocked unconscious and drowned. Other two crewmembers were close enough to shore “rode the surf to shore.” (Sistek, Scott. “Remembering the great Friday the 13th storm of 1981.” KOMO News, Seattle, 11-13-2010. Also: NWS WFO Portland. Some of the Area’s Windstorms.
[5] AP (Jane See White). “6 killed, 6 missing as storms lash East, West coasts.” The Register, Orange County, CA, 11-15-1981, A2. Victim identified as Frederick Fisk. Article notes that high winds had toppled a tree outside his home, bringing the line down. Maury Island is in Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, and northeast of Tacoma.