High Wind — Tacoma Area, Washington

2021-01-12 to 2021-01-13 · Tacoma Area, Washington

Event narrative

Areas around Tacoma reported wind gusts of 40-60 mph beginning during the late evening hours on the 12th and continuing through the early morning hours of the 13th. Ft Lewis and JBLM reported gusts of 58 mph, with other reports of 56 mph (Tacoma), 58 mph (Greenwater).

In South Tacoma, a tree came down on a home and demolished it, trapping one of the occupants (occupant was rescued and unharmed).

The North Meridian Bridge closed in both directions for a period of time due to a tree hitting the bridge and causing damage to the bridge.

Wider weather episode

A compact area of low pressure passed over the northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula during the evening hours of January 12 into the early morning hours of Wednesday January 13, producing a very strong pressure gradient as pressure quickly began to rise on its backside. This led to a short period of strong winds, some of which on the backside of the low was channeled and enhanced by topography.

By daybreak on the 13th, as the wind began to subside, over 550,000 power outages were reported across the area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 939392. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.