High Wind — Lower Columbia Basin, Washington

2021-12-11 · Lower Columbia Basin, Washington

Event narrative

The Gable Mountain station belonging to the Hanford Meteorological Monitoring Network (HMMN) 22 miles NNW of Richland, WA measured a peak wind gust of 78 mph at 715 PST. The EOC (HMMN) station 13 miles NW of Richland, WA measured a peak wind gust of 70 mph at 845 PST. 7 miles NNW of Richland, WA, social media reports showed an overturned truck and a travel trailer along State Route 240 in the Hanford area. Local Law enforcement also reported one truck driver was hospitalized due to the accident. Also, 2 miles SE of Kennewick, WA a large tree with a 40 inch circumference base was uprooted by the strong winds.

Wider weather episode

An upper level trough and cold front passage at the surface produced snow showers across the Cascade and Blue mountain ranges in Oregon and Washington, while a low level jet associated with this winter storm mixed down strong gusts across the Washington Columbia Basin.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 999614. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.