Strong Pacific Northwest storms in fall and winter are typical.
But this week in 1880, 146 years ago, was one of the region's strongest storms on record. The so-called "Storm King" pummeled western Washington and Oregon with high winds, heavy snow and pounding waves.
While this happened in the early years of the National Weather Service with relatively sparse available weather data, the superlatives from this storm would seem unthinkable today.
As the storm roared ashore in northwest Oregon, all-time pressure records, still standing today, were set in Astoria and Portland, Oregon, according to weather historian Christopher Burt. Two ships near the Oregon coast recorded pressures of 955 millibars, the lowest on record anywhere in the Pacific Northwest.
High winds from the storm damaged the roof of Oregon's state house in Salem and damaged at least 100 structures in Portland, according to Pacific Northwest storm expert Wolf Read. Hundreds, if not thousands, of trees were downed, some on railroad tracks.
Twofeetof snow fell in Seattle, leaving 4 to 6 feet of snow on the ground in the city after the storm. This massive snow not only brought everyday life to a halt, but it also collapsed buildings in Seattle, Olympia and Port Townsend.
Imagine that much snow falling today in a city that averages only 4inchesof snow each year.
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him onBluesky,X (formerly Twitter)andFacebook.
