For example, a variety of tracks can put a low between Portland and Olympia. Salem's Looks like a serious bent-back occlusion contributed to strong westerly winds on the Olympic Peninsula, including at Quillayute. Original caption published Dec. 26, 1964: An abandoned Christmas tree on the porch of home in Rufus tell the story of a town that longed for a white Christmas, but celebrated Christmas in the mud, digging out after a flood. Deadliest American Disasters and Large-Loss-of-Life Events, (10 or more lives lost with notable exceptions), 1979 Jan 9-10, Ice Storm, Portland, Multnomah County, OR 5, 2023 May 7, SUV driven into 18 migrant pedestrians at a bus-stop, Brownsville, TX 8, 2023 May 6, mass shooting, Allen Premium Outlets Mall, Allen, TX (includes gunman)9, 2023 May 1, vehicular pileup in farm dust in high wind, I-55 north of Farmersville, IL 6, 2023 April 10, workplace mass shooting, Old National Bank, Louisville, KY 5, 2023 March 31, tornadoes, deaths in 7 states; AL/1, AR/5, IL/4, IN/5, MS, TN/15, DE32. is 16.1 degrees below normal, equivalent to raising the city to A triple-point with strong enhancement along the storm's trailing front dragged across the Mid-Willamette Valley. The November 21, 1974 storm came ashore near Gold Beach and passed over Roseburg as a broad 995 mb cyclone. Though data is limited, making this assertion mostly a wild estimate, it appears that storms with a rank of 65.0 or higher are a 20 to 30 year event ("Storm of the Quarter-Century"). freak Nov. 15, 1955 cold wave that pushed Olympia, WA to zero Maybe the Columbus Day Storm spun up during the transition from one climate regime to another, and that the regular arrival of Storm King-type windstorms after the Columbus Day storm marked the new regieme. This snowstorm, however, was spotty, and mostly affected outlying areas to the south of Portland city center, such as Canby and Aurora. Road Reports The peak gust for Portland is extrapolated from a maximum fastest mile of 56 mph. This event was too far south to cause much problem in places like Eugene or North Bend, and in many ways shows remarkable similarity in surface pattern to December 16, 2002, save for the depth of the system and a more southerly track. ", TIMELINE: 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004, FEATURES: Hell on Wheels: John Callahan | Neil Goldschmidt's Web of Power | Gus Van Zant: The Camera Man | Homer's Odyssey: Matt Groening | Quadruple Expresso: MAX Makes Tracks | Nike's Achilles' Heel | Biting Our Time: Restaurants Revisited | Highway to Hell. But Portland bands like the Wipers, Dead Moon and Poison Idea did much of the blueprint work for the grunge revolution. The rest of the world calls it an ice storm. Medford generally escapes 50-mph-plus gusts in this scenario. Certainly more storms of this track class occurred in the era being considered. Jan. 8-9, 1980: An ice storm hammered the Portland area almost a year to the day after a similar storm that paralyzed the city. The November 9, 1975 cyclone rolled right over North Bend as a 975 mb system. This provincial movement of the socially desperate packed unexpected aftershocks. Portland was considered a logger's town. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Hotel_(Portland,_Oregon). We lost all the tops out of our fir trees and ending up with 1982: Smithsonian Letters Some NW regionalisms silver thaw = Freezing rain that coats everything with clear (silver) ice. DARE Vol. Winds ripped up these trees on Northwest 24th Avenue near Kearney Street. area, circa 1874. This storm had a significant impact in Washington and on the Oregon Coast north of Coos Bay. Kori (Jan . Posted in 1970s, Downtown, , , Southwest | Tagged 1979, Oregon, Portland 20 thoughts on " Lownsdale Square, 1979 " Johnny Mnemonic The term silver thaw is a complete misnomer. It seemed like any other holiday. Frozen Rivers! Im assuming this is looking east from the square. In the winter of 1952, downtown Portland got a taste of snow. portland, oregon ice storm 1979 Transport. winter of 1919-1920 is still a record-holder in many categories Dec. 28, 1978 was a cold night in Portland. Accessed 7-21-2018 at: https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/orders/IPS/IPS-8BC0A3ED-2187-4C7F-BE98-52110FE6327B.pdf. Portlanders oldtimers that their city rarely gets any significant Sewing Circle! 1950, the only cold even approaching these records was January cold air invasion was similar to the range and power to the Siberian Express of Since the Columbus Day Storm does not appear to correlate with any of the known major climate cycles, like the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), this would be a heretofore unidentified climate shift, or perhaps a cycle (remember, you heard it here first!). Even far to the south of Portland, The Oregonian newspaper The October 26, 1950 storm reached at least 969 mb as it raced northward off the Pacific Coast, putting this event in the rare sub-970 category of events. January 1950 snow accumulation was the heaviest month since the beginning of weather record-keeping in 1890, according to the National Weather Service. Please select one of the following: Experimental Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook, American Meteorological Society Journal article from April 1979, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is the kind of storm that few weather forecasters would volunteer to deal with. There have been just nine such storms in the last 52 years, making for an average return period of about once every six years. Two men die from exposure. Lincoln and Tillamook County residents were forced to flee their homes because of widespread flooding. The half-inch of rain that fell on the 9th and 10th mostly turned to ice. Tidbit: DJ: I remember it as a one of the worst Silver Thaws Ive ever experienced too. IBIS Hotel London Earl's Court is connected to the event conference venue. This is the ideal track for generating a high average peak gust for the eleven stations. They are also referred to as sou'westers on this website. Thundergusts clearly contributed to peak gust strength at the southern stations. Portland, Oregon Ice Storm 2004 PDX. The tall granite obelisk is topped with a bronze replica of a soldier in the Second Oregon Volunteer Infantry, part of the first large American fighting force ever sent overseas. { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; 968-969. Since the separation of the eleven stations used in the general Pacific Northwest ranking system ranges from about 50 to 100 miles, this isn't too difficult to do. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary has this entry: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Oregonian on January 1, 1979 forecast a high of 25 and low temp. Storm Data. View this image in Efiles by clicking. Portland General Electric also reported numerous outages. (Associated Press. 5 Taylor and Hatton. Hamilton Hotel was located at 1024 SW 3rd Ave. Now the Hatfield Federal Courthouse. River Graphs The April 27, 1962 windstorm is particularly noteworthy for its late season occurrence. To help orient the reader to the high wind strike zones in the tables, peak gusts of 70 mph or higher are listed in red, and peak gusts of 50 to 69 mph are listed in purple. Ranks 2, 4 and 5 all had similar paths, moving in out of the southwest and then rushing ashore between Astoria and Newport, and generated remarkably similar results. If interested in Portland's Climate Graphs Gusts on direct reading equipment at the Troutdale Airport reached 106 mph, and on the Morrison Street Bridge 116 mph, so 104 mph (converted from 90 knots) could very well be low! to Sacramento, Calif.(35 degrees)-- and even as far south as Douglas, Tours. The November 14, 1994 event was a 995 mb storm as it slowly moved inland near North Bend, with a generally eastward track. ), Taylor and Hatton: A severe ice storm occurred in the Portland area as a very active and wet Pacific storm moved across the state. compiled by. Narrative Information Jan 10/AP: ".a three-day ice storm in Oregon closed schools and offices in Portland froze traffic on the Columbia River and left thousands without electricity. The mean It was like that. The December 21, 1982 storm reached about 982 mb. But the disaffected children of a depressed, third-tier West Coast timber town were just getting started. The storm of 1951 was one of Oregon's strongest of the 20th century. We'll send you a newsletter with what you need to know every week. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Class 5: Cyclones That Track North of the Olympic Peninsula, Cyclones that Moved North of the Olympic Peninsula 1950-2004: Peak Gusts. example January of 1950, or the winter of 1968-69 (see below).The Drought Monitor Bands debuted in basements or at the Earth Tavern, Urban Noize or the Long Goodbye. ), and 9.8 mb (0.29") at Olympia. Jupiter (Jan. 10-11, 2017) Up to 15.5 inches in metro. 1950, the only cold even approaching these records was January Listing of all . For the Willamette Valley, the 982 mb March 27, 1963 windstorm was second only to the Columbus Day Storm in an average of valley location peak gusts--though it was a distant second. The Columbia River was almost frozen over with icebergs floating down the middle. 45.56 . PORTLAND, Oregon (CNN) -- The second winter storm to hit the northwest in four days blew in from the Pacific Ocean overnight, dumping more snow and . brutal winters ever experienced in the Portland area. That was one of the worst silver thaws that I can remember. Office History Portland owes much of its cultural allure-and thus a vitality that withstands sour economic times-to homegrown rebels of three decades ago. That parked pickup with the downed tree across its bonnet is a 1958 GMC 150 Fleetside Long Bed and it appears to have come out of it much better than a pickup would to today; with its heavy steel bodywork. The level of emergency caused by this event has been unsurpassed by any other sou'wester. We used to buy guns from one of its long term residents. Clay St. on March 26, 1971. The mean temperature for January 1888 was an even 22.0 degrees F, which is 16.1 degrees below normal, equivalent to raising the city to 4800 feet-- the elevation of Santiam Pass! Hourly wind data for North Bend appear to be missing. Road Reports in January 1949 was 21.0 degrees, and in January 1950 it was 21.2 1950 (Salem's absolute lowest is 12 below). December 20, 1961 saw a 985 mb cyclone race across Vancouver Island. The April 14, 1957 storm was one of the latest windstorm arrivals on record, and in this case a cyclone that reached about 988 mb. In the course of nearly 30 years, the micro-underground founded by Sage, Shirley and their comrades has mutated into a sprawling local music ecosystem. Strong cyclones following this track class are a bit more common than the Mid-Willamette Valley crossers. 20 Lownsdale Square after a winter storm, 1979. If you look at videos from that era, you can see people sort of tentatively spitting. It appears to have landed near Hoquiam with a 978 mb center, and then tracked inland close to, but north of, Bellingham. 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