Weather Eye: This can be a stormy time of year in the Pacific Northwest

Let me tell you a little story from long ago. On my way to work the morning of Friday, Nov. 13, 1981, the sky was an eerie red, with high clouds streaming across the skies. A storm was forecast to arrive in the evening with rain and breezy conditions — not unusual for November, right?

One must remember that technology in weather was still in its infant stage and relied heavily on surface weather maps with reports of winds and barometric pressure from weather stations on land and ship reports off the coast. We also had satellites, but not with the resolution of today’s eyes in the skies.

A deep cyclone developed off the coast of Northern California and was rapidly moving in a northeasterly direction toward the Southern Oregon Coast. It tracked about 150 to 200 miles offshore, similar to the big Columbus Day storm in October 1962.

On my way home from work, I stopped and got some snacks for the evening, as my family had planned to watch the Trail Blazers play in Los Angeles against the Lakers. It was somewhat breezy, with winds from the southeast, and intermittent light rain was wetting the streets.

The first thing I did when arriving home was check the barometer, which was falling like a rock. The chart ink line on my recording barograph looked like it had fallen off a cliff. The TV weather forecasters indicated we were in for strong southerly winds. But how strong?

As the Blazers began at 8 p.m., my wind gauge indicated winds outside at 45 mph. My maple trees in the backyard, still with a leaf canopy, were bending as if in a yoga session. Loud rumbling noises came from the street in front of my house, as neighbors had not retrieved their garbage cans from the curb. In those days, we still had galvanized metal cans. What a racket. I thought frantic Dorothy and Toto were going to knock on my door.

The power went out right before the game was over. My wife and children went to bed and huddled under the comfort of their blankets. I stayed up and watched my wind gauge by flashlight, and as the clock struck midnight, the gauge registered 80 mph. The winds continued well into Saturday, Nov. 14, and we waited the entire weekend for the power to return.

Oh, the Blazers? They lost 119-115.