In the wake of Hurricane Isaias slamming ashore across the Florida panhandle and on into Alabama and Georgia Friday night, and the 18 named storms in the eastern Pacific so far this season, does the Pacific Northwest including the North Sound get hurricanes?
The short answer is no, but the region does get hurricane-force winds.
The strongest non-tropical windstorm ever to hit the lower 48 in American history occurred 64 years ago on October 12, 1962. This historic storm clobbered much of the west coast including the North Sound as the storm hugged the coastline just offshore as it quickly tracked from Northern California up the coast to Vancouver Island.
Measured wind gusts along the Oregon and Washington coasts hit 150 mph and over 100 mph from Eugene to Vancouver, BC. With power outages and wind instrument damage, many measured winds were reported only early in the storm, and the actual peak winds were quite likely missed.
Those wind gusts matched category four hurricane force winds. The Pacific Northwest does not get hurricanes that are fueled by 80 degree or warmer sea surface temperatures but does get hurricane force winds when intense North Pacific Ocean storms manage to reach our area.
Wind gusts in the North Sound ranged from 70 to over 100 mph, striking on a Friday evening in ’62. Damage from the storm was widespread. Millions of people were without power along the entire US west coast, some not getting power back until November. High school football games were disrupted with power outages and bashed scoreboards. TV and radio stations were knocked off the air.
Over 15 billion feet of timber were blown down from the coast to Western Montana, enough timber to build one million homes. Thousands of buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged by fallen trees and the strong winds.
The storm claimed 46 lives in all and injured hundreds more. All other windstorms are compared to this grand-daddy of them all. If there is an older relative who lived through this storm, they have stories to tell.
The Columbus Day Storm anniversary intones that October is the start of the fall and winter windstorm season that runs into March. Another windstorm like this one could occur again. Fortunately, not all windstorms are this devastating, but winds of 70 mph or more occur more frequently, on average about every 10 years, producing numerous downed trees and power outages.
The last big widespread windstorm in our region was the Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm of December 2006.
Another recent windstorm was the ‘bomb cyclone’ in November 2024. The storm center remained offshore yet packed a punch for parts of Western Washington including the North Sound with wind gusts of over 70 mph, knocking power out for over one million customers and resulted in two fatalities.
Given this region gets a big windstorm around every 10 to 20 years, the region is overdue.
Back in 1962, Western Washington had a population of about 1.25 million residents. Today, the population is approaching 4 million with far more extensive infrastructure. Imagine a similar Columbus Day type windstorm with over 100 mph wind gusts pounding the North Sound today. The damage would quite likely be devastating and long-lived.
Strong windstorms usually prune or blow down trees, resulting in power outages, blocking roads, and disrupting lives. Preparing in advance for not only windstorms, but any fall and winter season storm is key to being ready when these storms strike. Visit https://www.ready.gov/ to learn how best to prepare in advance at your home, business, and even pets and livestock.
It is also important to know if a strong windstorm or any significant weather may strike our area. Visit the everettpost.com weather page for site-specific forecast information for your location, as well as weather.gov/seattle/ and other key weather apps and websites. When you are weather aware, you are weather prepared.
All photos courtesy of The Big Blow and West Coast Disaster, two publications that documented this historic windstorm.
