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News / Clark County News

Weather Eye: Clark County had wind, but the real action was at coast

By Patrick Timm for The Columbian
Published: October 11, 2015, 6:00am

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.

On Friday, as the remnants of Hurricane Oho passed by way offshore, I recorded winds in the 35 to 45 mph range and gusts to 50 mph at my weather station four miles north of Ocean Park. The winds lasted all day, with high surf pounding the beaches.

Calm conditions locally today, with highs around 70. Maybe a shower Monday, but then a nice week shaping up with highs in the 70s and maybe low 80s later on.

Looking at longer-range forecast models, we could see things turn real October-like with a series of storms and much cooler weather. Maybe snow in the higher mountains. The last week of October may see the beginning of the fall rains. We’ll see.


 

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://patricktimm.com

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