Despite increasing clouds and periods of rain and wind Saturday, we still managed to reach the average high temperature for the day. Not too bad at 68 degrees with a vigorous October storm. Winds around Clark County were in the 25 to 35 mph range for the most part. Rainfall totals were one-quarter to one-half inch.
The real action was along the coastal beaches, where winds over 50 mph combined with high seas made for some good storm watching. I ventured out on the Oysterville Beach approach during the height of the storm Saturday. The winds were so strong it took me nearly a minute to get the car door open and get out. Then it was awkward standing up. I filmed some video with my smartphone. The sand was blowing sideways with a force strong enough to sandblast the paint on the car. I didn’t drive past the shelter of the dunes.
I could see seagulls hunkered down in the dunes at the height of the storm. Skies partially cleared in the late afternoon as the cold front passed. This is the strongest storm I have seen since the unusual Aug. 29 windstorm. Of course, our weather has been rather benign since then.
My hand-held wind gauge measured a peak gust of 60 mph. Other wind speeds in Washington included 73 mph on Naselle Ridge, 53 mph at Cape Disappointment, and 69 mph at Megler. In Oregon, Oceanside had 76 mph and Astoria 55 mph.
