There was a lot of activity in the weather department Wednesday as a very deep low moved inland, causing brief squalls of heavy rain and very gusty winds. This low was very unusual for mid-May and appeared very impressive on the satellite photos Wednesday.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, I had recorded a wind gust of 40 mph. There were reports of winds generally in the 35 to 50 mph range in Western Washington and Oregon on Wednesday afternoon. The peak winds were forecast to arrive later in the evening, so final reports may be higher. Stronger wind gusts were on the coast, with the highest, as of 4 p.m., 74 mph at Cape Blanco on the southern Oregon coast.
High wind warnings were issued for the Washington Coast, and a high surf with 20- to 25-foot waves was expected to reach the coastline. Wow! Quite a storm for this late in the season. Lowering snow levels will deposit more snow in the mountains, especially on the higher slopes. I wouldn’t rule out a thunderstorm here and there today, as well.
One certainly wouldn’t have known what was ahead just by looking out the window Wednesday morning, with such fair weather, scattered clouds, blue skies, east winds, and temperatures in the 60s and near 70 degrees. But things really turned dark and nasty during the noon hour as a wall of clouds and rain moved through Clark County. Temperatures were warmer farther north in the Puget Sound area, as it took the clouds a while longer to reach up there. Highs were in the low to mid 70s before the bottom fell out.
