High Wind in Foothills of the Blue Mountains, Oregon

A strong Pacific cold front associated with a deep low pressure system north of Washington State brought strong winds over Oregon and Washington during the morning and early afternoon. These high winds raised clouds of dust over the Columbia basin, reducing visibilities to less than a quarter mile over Umatilla and Morrow counties. At around 9:30 am PST, blowing dust caused several chain reaction accidents on Interstate 84 nine miles west of Pendleton. This dust was caused by winds that gusted as high as 53 mph, which was recorded at the Pendleton Airport's ASOS site. These accidents involved up to 50 automobiles and semi -trucks on both the east and westbound lanes and led to the closure of the Interstate for 10 hours. Six people were killed and dozens were injured in these accidents. Another accident with a fatality occurred at 10:48 am PST at exit 216, which is six miles east of Pendleton. During the day, the Dept of Transportation also closed State Highways 11 and 37; both of which lead from Pendleton.