Coastal Flood — Northern Oregon Coast, Oregon

2022-01-03 · Northern Oregon Coast, Oregon

Event narrative

During this time high seas and high river levels in the area contributed to the flooding. As a result, the tide peaked around 12.5 feet around 1300PST at the Astoria tide gauge. This event ranked #1 for highest tides at the Astoria and Cape Disappointment tide gauges, 12.5 feet and 11.8 feet (MLLW) respectively.

Wider weather episode

The first of two strong Pacific fronts brought high winds to the coast as well as gusty winds to the Willamette Valley and interior lowlands of southwest Washington. This storm generated large seas impacting the coastline, and combined with rising river levels and high astronomical tides, resulted in some flooding along the coast due to poor drainage. In addition to the wind and rain, heavy snow fell in the mountains and in the Columbia River Gorge where transportation corridors between western and eastern Oregon and Washington were temporarily closed due the heavy snow accumulation.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1004255. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.