Introduction
Most of my weather history articles are skewed away from the West Cast. It’s not so much that I have a bias toward that part of the U.S. it’s just that notorious weather events are few and far between. When notable storms do occur, however thy usually visit the Pacific Northwest. Many swoop down from the Gulf of Alaska. On storm stands out as the most fierce and deadly.
The Columbus Day Storm of 1962 (a.k.a. “Big Blow”) remains the “benchmark” storm for the Pacific Northwest. This beast was one of the most powerful non-tropical storms to strike the U.S. It produced over three billion (2026) dollars of damage from northern California to Washington.
Storm History
This monster storm actually carried some (DNA) from a Pacific typhoon (Freda). It became extratropical and moved toward the U.S. West Coast. As it approached the coast of Northern California, it turned northward rapidly intensified. Rain from this storm canceled the sixth game of the 1962 World Series between the Giants and the Yankees. Over four inches of rain inundated the San Francisco Bay area.
The map above shows track of October 1962 Pacific Typhoon Freda which transitioned to an extratropical storm that became the Columbus Day Strom of 1962. Credit-NASA/NOAA.
The central pressure of this historic storm crashed down below 960 millibars as it moved northward just off of the Oregon Coast. Some incredible wind gusts, especially for a non-tropical storm, were recorded. A gust to 170 mph was recorded at Mt. Hebo in the northern Oregon Coast. Cape Blanco saw wind gusts to 145 mph before the anemometer failed. The Naselle radar station on the southwest Washington Coast recorded a gust to 160 mph.
There were also impressive gusts inland. Gusts reached 127 mph at Corvallis, Oregon and they exceeded 100 mph in the Portland area.
The storm began to weaken as it moved northward off the coast of Washington before turning inland in British Columbia.
Wind gusts over hurricane-force were recorded in the Seattle area, however. Meteorologist Wolf Read said that the tropical origin of the storm probably influenced its incredible strengthening later as an extratropical storm.
The map above shows the track and peak wind gusts for the Columbus Day storm of 1962. Credit- Meteorologist Wolf Read.
Storm Impacts
Needless to say, winds of this magnitude can produce an incredible amount of damage. Western Oregon took the worst of what this storm had to offer. The Willamette Valley of Oregon was particularly hard hit. A majority of homes were damaged or destroyed. In rural areas, barns collapsed which killed livestock.
A showing shows a home in Newberg, Oregon destroyed by the Columbus Day Storm of 1962. Credit-Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain.
Tree damage from northern California to Washington was way beyond belief!
In less than 12 hours, more than 11 billion board feet of timber was blown down in northern California, Oregon and Washington combined; some estimates put it at 15 billion board feet. This exceeded the annual timber harvest for Oregon and Washington at the time.
A Photo showing major tree damage in Oregon from the Columbus Day Storm in 1962. Credit-NWS.
Transmitting towers for radio and TV stations in the Portland area were destroyed and some stations weren’t able to transmit for three to four months. The city experienced extensive damage to homes and businesses.
A former co-worker of mine, Meteorologist and best-selling author) Buzz Bernard, was living in Portland at that time and had this to say about the storm.
“For all practical purposes, Portland, with gusts over 100 mph, was hit by the “eyewall” of a hurricane. Thousands of trees downed. But my dad and I made it to a football game the following day at Multnomah Stadium. Huskies vs. Oregon State Beavers. Huskies came from behind to win.
A wind gust to 127 mph was recorded at Corvallis, Oregon. Weather observers in Corvallis actually had to ee the station during the storm and the 3 p.m. observation was missing
Weather observations (above) for Corvallis Oregon October 12, 1962. (notation that the station was abandoned) . Credit- Oregon Climate Services.
Power lines and transformers were destroyed all across northwest Oregon. Power was not restored for several weeks. Many roads were blocked and impassable and several bridges were damaged.
A photo showing workers inspecting a bridge damaged by the Columbus Day Storm of 1962. Credit Oregon State University.
Washington state had its own set of problems from the storm.
There were trees down everywhere in Snoqualmie. According to one account school buses that transported students for the Snoqualmie Falls School District had men with chainsaws and they had to cut trees off the roads to get the kids home.
In Tacoma, the power went out across the city, and many streets were blocked by falling trees. Paci c Avenue was completely covered with broken glass from all the blown out windows.
Seattle felt the brunt of the storm by early evening. There was widespread loss of power with tree and power line damage across the metro area and many streets were blocked. At the Seattle World’s Fair, officials closed the Coliseum at 7:30, worried that the glass windows might blow out. The Space Needle closed lines for the elevators, but diners in the “Eye of the Needle” were allowed to complete their meals.
Forecast Challenges
The Columbus Day Storm was poorly forecast by the forecast models of the time, which were primitive and unreliable, especially for storms that intensify rapidly.
The forecast called a much weaker storm with only scattered showers, with the storm turning into southern Oregon. A couple of meteorologists at the U.S. Weather Bureau in Seattle did realize that a significant storm was coming and a few hours lead time was communicated to the public.
All told, 46 fatalities were attributed to this historic storm, more than any other Pacific Northwest weather event.
