Willapa Hills recorded 84 mph gust Sunday morning

Short-lived storm knocked out power to more than 22,000, but most were restored within hours

By Dan Hammock • January 7, 2019 1:30 am
DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Strong winds knocked the sign off the Harbor Praise Center at the corner of West Wishkah and South Park streets in Aberdeen Sunday morning. Monday morning the traffic light at the intersection was still blinking and the crosswalk signals were disabled.
DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Strong winds knocked the sign off the Harbor Praise Center at the corner of West Wishkah and South Park streets in Aberdeen Sunday morning. Monday morning the traffic light at the intersection was still blinking and the crosswalk signals were disabled.

More than 22,000 Grays Harbor PUD customers lost power during a wild — but short-lived — wind storm early Sunday morning, which included a gust of 84 mph in the Willapa Hills recorded by the National Weather Service in Portland.

Here are some of the high gusts recorded in Grays Harbor County by the National Weather Service in Seattle:

Bowerman Airport at Hoquiam: 60 mph at 1 a.m.

Central Park: 35 mph at 1 a.m.

Ocean Shores: 31 mph at 2:17 a.m.

Aberdeen: 30 mph at 1:01 a.m.

Along with the 84 mph gust recorded in the Willapa Hills at 1 a.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service in Portland recorded the following Pacific County peak gusts on the Long Beach Peninsula:

Nahcotta: 62 mph at 12:10 a.m.

Ocean Park: 56 mph at 12:09 a.m.

Long Beach: 41 mph at 12:20 a.m.

The storm took a different track than the previous storms this winter, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle. Sunday’s storm was a track of low pressure just off the coast moving up from California; previous storms were low pressure systems tracking further offshore moving near Vancouver Island, putting the strongest winds along the coast. Sunday’s winds tracked into the lowlands between the Olympics and Cascades, causing rapid changes in pressure, which in turn created the strong winds “as the atmosphere tried to adjust.” Peak gusts were spread out over an hour or two.

Of the 22,000-plus customers that lost power in Grays Harbor County Sunday morning, the vast majority had it restored before 8 a.m. Sunday. Only scattered outages were reported after 8 a.m., according to the PUD, including Westport, the Wishkah, North River, and Delezenne and South Union roads in Elma.

Damage was limited in Hoquiam, according to city administrator Brian Shay.

“We had to clear and remove a tree that was blown over on Circle Drive,” he said. “We also had a lot of limbs, flowers and other debris scattered throughout the cemetery that will take some time to clean up. Other than that, there was no major damage that we are currently aware of.”

Aberdeen also was spared any major damage, according to city engineer Kris Koski. Some signs of the storm were still visible Monday morning, including the large readerboard sign on the Harbor Faith Center at West Wishkah and South Park streets, which came down and was still resting on a utility pole. The intersection was blinking yellow on West Wishkah and yellow on South Park and the crossing signal was disabled Monday morning.

In Central Park, a tree fell onto a house near Fairway Drive.

County crews were still cleaning up downed trees and debris that were blocking some roadways Monday morning, according to county engineer Rob Wilson. He said the county did not have a list of all the roads that had to be cleared, but there were reports that the Blue Slough Road was closed for a time Sunday because of trees across the roadway, and there were reports on social media that Wenzel Slough Road in Elma also had trees across the roadway Sunday morning. As of Monday afternoon county crews were still out clearing storm debris but Wilson was unsure of the exact locations.

Upcoming weather

There were no warnings or watches for the region reported by the National Weather Service in Seattle as of Monday afternoon. The forecast for Hoquiam calls for the potential of two inches of rain between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday night. Winds are expected to be gusty Tuesday with gusts to 21 mph and Wednesday to 10 mph.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP The top of a fuel pump from the Heron Street AM/PM station blew across South Alder Street and came to rest just behind the Carstars auto dealership. Cyclone fencing surround the AM/PM, which is currently under a major remodel, was blown down during Sunday’s storm.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP The top of a fuel pump from the Heron Street AM/PM station blew across South Alder Street and came to rest just behind the Carstars auto dealership. Cyclone fencing surround the AM/PM, which is currently under a major remodel, was blown down during Sunday’s storm.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Strong winds knocked the sign off the Harbor Praise Center at the corner of West Wishkah and South Park streets in Aberdeen Sunday morning. Monday morning the traffic light at the intersection was still blinking and the crosswalk signals were disabled.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Strong winds knocked the sign off the Harbor Praise Center at the corner of West Wishkah and South Park streets in Aberdeen Sunday morning. Monday morning the traffic light at the intersection was still blinking and the crosswalk signals were disabled.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Strong winds knocked the sign off the Harbor Praise Center at the corner of West Wishkah and South Park streets in Aberdeen Sunday morning. Monday morning the traffic light at the intersection was still blinking and the crosswalk signals were disabled.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP Strong winds knocked the sign off the Harbor Praise Center at the corner of West Wishkah and South Park streets in Aberdeen Sunday morning. Monday morning the traffic light at the intersection was still blinking and the crosswalk signals were disabled.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP The top of a fuel pump from the Heron Street AM/PM station blew across South Alder Street and came to rest just behind the Carstars auto dealership. Cyclone fencing surround the AM/PM, which is currently under a major remodel, was blown down during Sunday’s storm.

DAN HAMMOCK | GRAYS HARBOR NEWS GROUP The top of a fuel pump from the Heron Street AM/PM station blew across South Alder Street and came to rest just behind the Carstars auto dealership. Cyclone fencing surround the AM/PM, which is currently under a major remodel, was blown down during Sunday’s storm.