As Winnie the Pooh would say, “It was a blustery day in the neighborhood.” Both Sunday and Monday lived up to that quote, for sure. Winds knocked a few tree branches on power lines in the Portland area Sunday, I heard.
Winds were stronger Monday after a warm front went through in the morning. We had a brief respite before the cold front was moving in late Monday. A high-wind warning was up for the Oregon and Washington coasts and some inland areas of Western Washington Monday with afternoon wind speeds over 55 mph at Clatsop Spit and over 70 mph on Destruction Island.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, Bellingham had winds close to 50 mph while most inland areas had winds in the 25-35 mph range. I noticed some collateral damage with small limbs and twigs down around our local area as well. Kind of gets one in the mood for a nice warm fire in the fireplace and candles maybe.
After months of pretty mundane-looking satellite photos, the storm on Monday was pretty impressive. A nice wrapped-up low spinning in the Gulf of Alaska. I heard from one weather watcher north of Tillamook on Monday and he was really enjoying the winds and crashing surf. I wish I were there.