1996 — Dec 26-Jan 3, 1997, Storms, snow, heavy rain, snowmelt, flooding, CA, OR, WA–19

—  19  Blanchard estimate.[1]

–>12  Taylor and Hatton. Oregon Weather Book: A State of Extremes.  1999, p. 103.

—  11  AP. “After snowstorms, Northwest now faces floods.” The Chronicle, WA, 1-1-1997, A10

—  10  AP. “Storm kills 10 as second round looms.” The Chronicle, Centralia, WA, 12-31-1996, A4.

 

California, northern (  5)

–5  NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 39, No. 1 January 1997, p. 22.

–3  Arboga, Yuba County, Jan 2-3. Drowning; flash flood; Feather River levee break.[2]

–1  Burney, Shasta County, Jan 1. Drowning; vehicle swept off road by water. (p. 23)

–1  Wilton, Sacramento County. Drowning; Cosumnes River bridge near McConnel.[3]

 

Oregon                       (  3)

–3  AP. “After snowstorms, Northwest now faces floods.” The Chronicle, Centralia, WA, 1-1-1997, A10

–1  Multnomah Falls, Dec 29. Drowned; heavy equipment operator, creek below the Falls.[4]

 

Washington                (11)

–11  (by Jan 2). Chronicle, Centralia, WA. “Damage: Winds knock out power in Seattle area.”

–10  Blanchard tally from locality and date-of-death breakouts below.

—>8  AP. “After snowstorms, Northwest now faces floods.” The Chronicle, Centralia, 1-1-1997, A10.[5]

Breakout by Locality (where noted)

–1  Belfair, Dec 26. Man killed by falling tree branch. (NCDC, 38/12, Dec 1996, pp. 103-104.)

–1  Everett/Seattle/Tacoma area, Jan 1-3. Woman, 58, killed when snow caused roof collapse.[6]

–1  Issaquah, Dec 28-29. Male (Kenneth Schmoe) killed by falling tree branch. (NCDC)[7]

–1  ~Nine-Mile Hill, Dec 30, US Hwy 12. Vehicle goes out of control; “driving rain…melting snow.”[8]

–1  Redmond, Dec 31. Tree falls on car killing man. NCDC. Storm Data, 38-12, Dec 1996, 106.[9]

–3  Snohomish County.[10] (Jan 2 article writes these were previously unreported “accidents”.)

–1  Dec 27

–2  Dec 29

–1  Locality not noted, Dec 26. Indirect snow-related traffic accident fatality. NCDC.[11]

–1  Locality not noted, Dec 28-29. Indirect snow-related traffic accident fatality. NCDC.[12]

 

Cause of Death (where noted)

 

Drowning                                           (6)

–3  CA. Arboga, Yuba County, Jan 2-3. Drowning; flash flood; Feather River levee break.

–1  CA. Burney, Shasta County, Jan 1. Drowning; vehicle swept off road by water.

–1  CA. Wilton, Sacramento County. Drowning; Cosumnes River bridge near McConnel.

–1  OR. Multnomah Falls, Dec 29. Drowned; heavy equipment operator, creek below the Falls.

 

Roof Collapse (Snow weight)           (1)

–1  WA. Everett/Seattle/Tacoma area, Jan 1-3. Woman, 58; snow caused roof collapse.

 

Tree/Tree-Branch Falls                    (3)

–1  WA. Belfair, Dec 26. Man killed by falling tree branch. (NCDC, 38/12, Dec 1996, 103-104.)

–1  WA. Issaquah, Dec 28-29. Male killed by falling tree branch. (NCDC)

–1  WA. Redmond, Dec 31. Tree falls on car. NCDC. Storm Data, 38-12, Dec 1996, 106.

 

Vehicular Accidents                          (6)

–1  WA. ~Nine-Mile Hill, Dec 30, US Hwy 12. Vehicle out of control; “driving rain…melting snow.”

–3  WA, Snohomish Co.[13] (Jan 2 article writes these were previously unreported “accidents”.)[14]

–1  Dec 27

–2  Dec 29

–1  WA. Locality not noted, Dec 26. Indirect snow-related traffic accident fatality. NCDC

–1  WA. Locality not noted, Dec 28-29. Indirect snow-related traffic accident fatality. NCDC.

 

Not Noted                                           (3)

–2  OR

–1  WA (Press reports 11 WA storm-related deaths and we find references to just 10.)

 

Narrative Information

 

NCDC, DEC 26-27, OR: “An ice storm paralyzed the Portland metropolitan area and the Columbia Gorge. Ice accumulations of 4 to 5 inches were reported within the Columbia Gorge. Interstate 84 through the Gorge was closed for 4 days. Widespread electricity outages and hundreds of downed trees and power lines were reported in the Portland area.” (Storm Data, 38/12, Dec 1996, p. 82.)

 

NCDC, Dec 26-31, OR: “Heavy rains caused 16 rivers in Northwest Oregon to flood during the last week of December and continued into early January. Dozens of homes were flooded on various rivers and numerous highways were rendered impassable.” (Storm Data, 38/12, Dec 1996, p. 82.)

 

NCDC, Dec 26, WA: “Heavy snow fell over much of the Seattle-Everett metro area. Some of the snow in the south parts mixed with sleet. By afternoon up to 6 inches had fallen in Snohomish and by 10 pm Edmunds accumulated 10 inches. Seatac airport cancelled almost 400 flights and there were 1000’s of people stranded at the airport. There were about 250 buses stuck with only 30% in service. Almost every hotel from Seatac to Tacoma was full. Arthur McKaig, of Belfair, died with a tree branch fell on top of him. There were many traffic accidents, one with a fatality that was not directly caused by the snow.” (NCDC. Storm Data, 38/12, Dec 1996, pp. 103-104.)

 

Taylor and Hatton: “Northwest Dec. 30, 1996 to Jan. 5, 1997…Mild subtropical moisture persisted over the entire Northwest for several days, causing heavy rain and rapid snowmelt. This flood affected a large region from California to Idaho with a total of seventy counties declared disasters and estimated damage totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Washington Governor Mike Lowry declared nineteen counties disaster areas and more than a dozen storm-related deaths were reported. In Oregon eight counties were declared disaster areas. Hardest hit was Ashland in southern Oregon where 21,000 residents tried to cope with a river running through the middle of town.” (Taylor and Hatton. Oregon Weather Book: A State of Extremes.  1999, p. 103.)

 

Newspaper

 

Dec 31: “Seattle….At least 10 people have died in Washington and Oregon since Thursday [Dec 26] as a result of back-to-bank storms that dumped up to 2 feet of snow, aggravated by periods of freezing rain. Then came a new twist. The temperature climbed into the high 40s, more than 20 degrees above the temperature during the height of the wintry blast, and heavy rains helped turn the snow into a sodden mess. Nearly 3 inches of rain fell in Seattle in a 24-hour period that ended early Monday.

 

“The storms caused mudslides and avalanches, stranded travelers and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people.

 

“…Flood warnings were posted for four major rivers in Western Washington, the Chehalis, Skookumchuck, Skokomish and White….

 

“Washington’s major highways across the Cascade mountains remained closed this morning….

 

“About 40,800 customers of Puget Sound Power & Light remained without electricity late Monday in Western Washington….In Oregon, Portland General Electric Co. said about 4,500 homes and businesses, mostly in eat Multnomah County, still were without power Monday night. Some had been without electricity since Thursday.

 

“Dozens of flat roofs on stores in the Puget Sound area collapsed under the weight of heavy, rain-sodden snow….”  (Associated Press, Seattle. “Storm kills 10 as second round looms.” The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, WA, 12-31-1996, A4.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press, Seattle. “After snowstorms, Northwest now faces floods.” The Chronicle, Centralia, 1-1-1997, A10. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-chronicle-jan-01-1997-p-10/

 

Associated Press, Portland. “Serious flood threat growing in Oregon.” The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, WA, 12-30-1996, A4. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-chronicle-dec-30-1996-p-4/

 

Associated Press, Seattle. “Storm kills 10 as second round looms.” The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, WA, 12-31-1996, A4. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-chronicle-dec-31-1996-p-4/

 

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 38, No. 12, December 1996. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-C6DE7285-D15C-445B-9DD2-FC955EDD74B3.pdf

 

National Climatic Data Center. Storm Data, Vol. 39, No. 1, January 1997. Asheville, NC: NCDC, NOAA. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-BB4CE37B-48C5-4A51-A39A-5AA742886F70.pdf

 

Taylor, George H. and Raymond R. Hatton. Oregon Weather Book: A State of Extremes.  Corvallis: Oregon Sate University Press, 1999.

 

The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, WA. “Damage: Winds knock out power in Seattle area.” 1-2-1997, p. 8. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-chronicle-jan-02-1997-p-8/

 

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. “First area death tied to rash of nasty weather occurs near Nine-Mile Hill.” 12-31-1996, p. 1. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/walla-walla-union-bulletin-dec-31-1996-p-1/

 

Other Sources Consulted

 

National Weather Service. Special Climate Summary — 97/1.. Flooding in the Pacific Northwest. NOAA, NWS, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Climate Prediction Center. January 1997. Accessed 7-25-2018 at: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/special_summaries/97_1/

 

 

[1] Based on reports of 11 deaths in WA and 3 in OR between Dec 26 and Jan 2, and 5 in CA Jan 1-3.

[2] NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 39, No. 1, Jan 1997, p. 23.

[3] NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 39, No. 1, Jan 1997, p. 23.

[4] Victim identified as Leroy Leis, 45. (Associated Press, Portland. “Serious flood threat growing in Oregon.” The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, WA, 12-30-1996, A4.)

[5] “The Washington death toll from weather-related accidents since last week climbed to at least eight on Tuesday when a tree fell onto a car in the Seattle suburb of Redmond, killing a man inside….The tree was standing in swollen Bear Creek alongside a roadway when it gave way and crashed, roots and all. A 47-year-old Redmond man was killed and a child in the car was injured…”

[6] NCDC. Storm Data, Vol. 39, No. 1, Jan 1997, p. 156.

[7] NCDC. Storm Data, 38/12, Dec 1996, p. 104.

[8] Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. “First area death tied to rash of nasty weather occurs near Nine-Mile Hill.” 12-31-1996, p. 1. Paper identifies the victim as Steven A. Acarregui, 34, a passenger in a vehicle which “went out of control on the slushy roadway…”

[9] Also AP, Seattle. “After snowstorms, Northwest now faces floods.” The Chronicle, Centralia, 1-1-1997, A10.

[10] The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, WA. “Damage: Winds knock out power in Seattle area.” 1-2-1997, p. 8.

[11] NCDC. Storm Data, 38/12, Dec 1996, pp. 103-104.

[12] NCDC. Storm Data, 38/12, Dec 1996, p. 104.

[13] The Chronicle, Centralia/Chehalis, WA. “Damage: Winds knock out power in Seattle area.” 1-2-1997, p. 8.

[14] Our impression is these were vehicular accidents based on: “The Washington death toll from weather-caused accidents in the storms that began Dec 26 climbed now stands at 11. The new figure includes three previously unreported deaths in Snohomish County, two on Sunday and one on Friday.”