The Columbus Day Storm of 1962 (also known as the Big Blow, and originally, and in Canada as Typhoon Freda) was a

Pacific Northwest windstorm Pacific Northwest windstorms, sometimes colloquially known as Big Blows, are extratropical cyclones which form in the Pacific basin, and affect land areas in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and British Columbia, Canada. They form as cy ...

that struck the West Coast of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

on October 12, 1962. Typhoon Freda was the twenty-eighth tropical depression, the twenty-third tropical storm, and the eighteenth typhoon of the

1962 Pacific typhoon season The 1962 Pacific typhoon season had no official bounds; there was activity in every month but January, March, and June, but most tropical cyclones form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between May and November and this conventionally delimits th ...

. Freda originated from a tropical disturbance over the Northwest Pacific on September 28. On October 3, the system strengthened into a tropical storm and was given the name ''Freda'', before becoming a

typhoon A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

later that day, while moving northeastward. The storm quickly intensified, reaching its peak as a Category 3-equivalent typhoon on October 5, with maximum 1-minute sustained winds of and a minimum central pressure of . Freda maintained its intensity for another day, before beginning to gradually weaken, later on October 6. On October 9, Freda weakened into a tropical storm, before transitioning into an

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable ...

on the next day. On October 11, Freda turned eastward and accelerated across the North Pacific, before striking the Pacific Northwest on the next day. On October 13, the cyclone made landfall on

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...

, and then curved northwestward. Afterward, the system moved into Canada and weakened, before being absorbed by another developing storm to the south on October 17. The Columbus Day Storm of 1962 is considered to be the benchmark of extratropical wind storms. The storm ranks among the most intense to strike the region since at least 1948, likely since the January 9, 1880 " Great Gale" and snowstorm. The storm is a contender for the title of the most powerful extratropical cyclone recorded in the U.S. in the 20th century; with respect to

wind velocity In meteorology, wind speed, or wind flow speed, is a fundamental atmospheric quantity caused by air moving from high to low pressure, usually due to changes in temperature. Wind speed is now commonly measured with an anemometer. Wind spee ...

, it is unmatched by the March 1993 "

Storm of the Century ''Storm of the Century'', alternatively known as ''Stephen King's Storm of the Century'', is a 1999 American horror television miniseries written by Stephen King and directed by Craig R. Baxley. Unlike many other television adaptations of King ...

" and the "

1991 Halloween Nor'easter The 1991 Perfect Storm, also known as The No-Name Storm (especially in the years immediately after it took place) and the Halloween Gale/Storm, was a nor'easter that absorbed Hurricane Grace, and ultimately evolved into a small unnamed hurrican ...

" ("The Perfect Storm"). The system brought strong winds to the

and southwest Canada, and was linked to 46 fatalities in the northwest and

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

resulting from heavy rains and mudslides.

Meteorological history

On the morning of September 28, a tropical disturbance formed south of the island of Eniwetok Atoll. After moving westward and making a large bend around the island, the new system slowly gained strength, and on the morning of October 3, the system became a tropical storm about from

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...

, over the central Pacific Ocean. Now named ''Freda'', the system rapidly intensified as it proceeded northeastward over the open Pacific waters. On that afternoon, Freda intensified into a

, with 1-minute sustained winds of 80 mph (130 km/h). On October 4, the typhoon quickly intensified, reaching its peak of 115 mph (185 km/h) on the next day, with a minimum

central pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, ...

of , making the storm the equivalent of a Category 3 typhoon on the

Saffir–Simpson scale The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale (SSHWS) classifies hurricanes—which in the Western Hemisphere are tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms—into five categories distinguished b ...

. After stabilizing to the north, Freda maintained its strength through the Pacific, before beginning to weaken slowly on October 6. Making a turn to the northeast, Freda maintained typhoon-status winds for several more days, before weakening into a tropical storm on October 9, as it started experiencing the effects of cold air. Moving northeastward at a steady rate of , the storm slowly underwent an extratropical transition, becoming extratropical operationally on the morning of October 10, still with winds of 45 mph (65 km/h). The system became an

as it moved into colder waters and interacted with the

jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds (flowing west to east) ...

. However, post-season analysis concluded that the system continued weakening as it continued northeastward, crossing the

180th meridian The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian 180° both east and west of the prime meridian in a geographical coordinate system. The longitude at this line can be given as either east or west. On Earth, these two meridians form a ...

later that afternoon, before completing the transition that evening. The extratropical low redeveloped intensely off the coast of

, due to favorable upper-level conditions, producing record rainfall across the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

that delayed some games in the

1962 World Series The 1962 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 season. The 59th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the defending American League (AL) and World Series champion Ne ...

between the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. The low moved northeastward, and then hooked straight north, as it neared southwest

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. The storm then raced nearly northward at an average speed of , with the center situated just off the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...

. There was little central pressure change until the cyclone passed the latitude of Astoria,

, at which time the low began to degrade. On October 13, the center passed over Tatoosh Island,

, before making

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, where it weakened rapidly. The cyclone then curved northwestward, before turning back eastward and moving into Canada. As the cyclone moved through Canada, another cyclone formed on its southern periphery, which absorbed the original cyclone by October 17. The extratropical cyclone deepened to a minimum central

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country a ...

of at least , and perhaps as low as , a pressure which would be equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale (SSHS). Since the system was an

, its wind field was neither as compact nor as strong as a

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

, though its wind field was significantly larger. All-time record-low land-based pressures (up to 1962) included at Astoria, at

Hoquiam, Washington Hoquiam ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It borders the city of Aberdeen at Myrtle Street, with Hoquiam to the west. The two cities share a common economic history in lumbering and exporting, but Hoquiam has maintai ...

, and at

North Bend, Oregon North Bend is a city in Coos County, Oregon, United States with a population of 9,695 as of the 2010 census.Cape Blanco, an

anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...

that lost one of its cups registered wind gusts in excess of ; some reports put the peak velocity at . The north Oregon coast Mt. Hebo radar station reported winds of . At the Naselle Radar Station in the

Willapa Hills The Willapa Hills is a geologic, physiographic, and geographic region in southwest Washington. When described as a physiographical province, the Willapa Hills are bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Columbia River to the south, the Ol ...

of southwest

, a wind gust of was observed. In

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary bet ...

, a wind gust of was observed. At

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

, an inland location in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the eas ...

, one-minute average winds reached , with a gust to , before the station was abandoned due to "power failure and instruments demolished". Observations at the weather station resumed the next day. About to the north, at

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

's major metropolitan area, measured wind gusts reached at the Morrison Street Bridge in downtown Portland. A peak gust of was observed in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, located in Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Was ...

Pearson Field Pearson Field also once known as Pearson Airpark, is a city-owned municipal airport located one mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district of Vancouver, a city in Clark County, Washington, United States. Pearson Field is t ...

, around to the north of downtown Portland. Many anemometers, official and unofficial, within the heavily stricken area of northwestern Oregon and southwest Washington were damaged or destroyed before winds attained maximum velocity. For example, the wind gauge atop the downtown Portland studios of KGW radio and TV recorded two gusts of , just before flying debris knocked the gauge off-line shortly after 5 p.m. For the Willamette Valley, the lowest peak gust officially measured was at Eugene. This value, however, is higher than the maximum peak gust generated by any other Willamette Valley windstorm in the 1948–2010 period. In the interior of western Washington, officially measured wind gusts included at Olympia, at McChord Air Force Base, at Renton at and at Bellingham. In the city of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, a peak wind speed of was recorded; this suggests gusts of at least . Damaging winds reached as far inland as

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

. Wind gusts of , the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

minimum for "High Wind Criteria," or higher were reported from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

Impact

At least 46 fatalities were attributed to this storm, more than for any other Pacific Northwest weather event.

Injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or o ...

went into the hundreds. In terms of natural disaster-related fatalities for the 20th century, only Oregon's Heppner Flood of 1903 (247 deaths), Washington's

Wellington avalanche Wellington (later known as Tye) was a small unincorporated railroad community in the northwest United States, on the Great Northern Railway in northeastern King County, Washington. Founded in 1893, it was located in the Cascade Range at the west ...

of 1910 (96 deaths), the Great Fire of 1910 (87 deaths), and Eruption of Mount St. Helens of 1980 (57 deaths) caused more. For Pacific Northwest windstorms in the 20th century, the runner up was the infamous October 21, 1934, gale, which caused 22 fatalities, mostly in Washington. In less than 12 hours, more than 11 billion board feet (26,000,000 m³) of timber was blown down in northern California, Oregon and Washington combined; some estimates put it at 15 billion board feet (35,000,000 m³). This exceeded the annual timber harvest for Oregon and Washington at the time. This value is above any blowdown measured for East Coast storms, including hurricanes; even the often-cited

1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...

, which toppled 2.65 billion board feet (6,300,000 m³), falls short by nearly an order of magnitude. Estimates put the dollar damage at approximately $230 million to $280 million for California, Oregon, and Washington combined. Those figures in 1962

US dollars The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

translate to $1.8 to $2.2 billion in 2014 US dollars. Oregon's share exceeded $200 million in 1962 US dollars. This is comparable to land-falling hurricanes that occurred within the same time frame (for example, Audrey, Donna, and Carla from 1957 to 1961). The Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (now MetLife) named the Columbus Day Storm the nation's worst natural disaster of 1962.

California

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and Northern California, all-time record rains associated with the atmospheric river along the cold front caused major flooding and mudslides, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay ...

set an all time calendar day record with of rain on the 13th, as did

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

with . More than of rainfall were recorded in the Bay area. Heavy rain forced Game 6 of the

at San Francisco's

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

to be postponed from its originally scheduled date of October 11 to Monday, October 15.

Oregon

In the Willamette Valley, it is said the undamaged home was the exception.

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to ani ...

suffered greatly due to the barn failures: the animals were crushed under the weight of the collapsed structures, a story that was repeated many times throughout the afflicted region. At the north end of the Valley, two high voltage transmission towers were toppled. Radio and TV broadcasting were affected in the Portland area. KGW-TV lost its tower at Skyline and replaced the temporary tower with a new one on January 28, 1963.

KOIN Koin or KOIN may refer to: * KOIN, a TV station in Portland, Oregon * Koin, Guinea See also * Koine (disambiguation) {{dab ...

radio lost one of two AM towers at Sylvan.

KPOJ KPOJ (620 AM) is a radio station serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon and neighboring Washington. It airs a sports format, and is affiliated with Fox Sports Radio. Its transmitter is located in Sunnyside, Or ...

-AM/-FM lost much of its transmitting equipment, plus one of two towers was left partially standing at Mount Scott. KPOJ-FM was so badly damaged it wouldn't return to the air until February 9, 1963. KWJJ-AM lost one of its towers and a portion of its transmitter building at Smith Lake. KISN-AM also lost a tower at Smith Lake. Seven-month-old TV station KATU did not receive any damage at its Livingston Mountain site, north of

Camas, Washington Camas is a city in Clark County, Washington, with a population of 26,065 at the 2020 census. The east side of town borders the city of Washougal, Washington, and the west side of town borders Vancouver, Washington. Camas lies along the Washin ...

. However, KATU didn't have a generator and power was cut off. The heavy-duty design of the radio towers on Portland's West Hills today, with extensive and robust guy cables, is a direct result of the lessons learned from the 1962 catastrophe. For northwest Oregon, the entire power distribution system had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Some locations did not have power restored for several weeks. This storm became a lasting memory for local power distributors. Indeed, a number of high wind related studies appeared in the years after the storm in an attempt to assess the return frequency of such potentially damaging winds. The state capitol grounds at Salem, and the state's college campuses, resembled battlefields with heavy losses of trees. The Campbell Hall tower at Oregon College of Education (now

Western Oregon University Western Oregon University (WOU) is a public university in Monmouth, Oregon. It was originally established in 1856 by Disciples of Christ pioneers as Monmouth University. Subsequent names included Oregon State Normal School, Oregon College of ...

) in

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

crashed to the ground, an event recorded by student photographer Wes Luchau in the most prominent picture-symbol of the storm. East of Salem, the wind destroyed a historic barn that served as a clandestine meeting place by pro-slavery Democratic members of the state Legislature in 1860. The

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for ...

–

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac ...

college football game went on as scheduled Saturday, October 13 in Portland, in a heavily damaged

Multnomah Stadium Multnomah may refer to: *The Multnomah people, a Chinookan people who lived in the area of modern Portland, Oregon, United States **''Multnomah'', the middle Chinookan dialect of the Multnomah people ;Places, vessels, and institutions whose name ...

. Much of the roof was damaged and seats damaged by falling debris were replaced by portable chairs. Crews cleared debris from the grandstand and playing field right up to kickoff. Most of the electricity, including the scoreboard and clock, was still out and players dressed by candlelight in the locker rooms. The Huskies came from behind to beat the Beavers 14–13, despite a strong performance by quarterback Terry Baker, who would win the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

later that year.

British Columbia

The storm weakened as it traveled north into

, with peak gusts measured at . Five people in British Columbia were killed in the storm, and the area suffered $80 million in damages.

Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park borders the neighbourhoods of West End and ...

lost 3,000 trees. A

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

resident described it as "Just general devastation everywhere you went. There were trees breaking off and flying across the roads. "Wind was just blowing the rain horizontal and trees were weaving all over the place. You didn't know if you were going to get hit or not." At Victoria airport, a

Martin Mars The Martin JRM Mars is a large, four-engined cargo transport flying boat designed and built by the Martin Company for the United States Navy during World War II. It was the largest Allied flying boat to enter production, although only seven ...

waterbomber ("Caroline Mars") was hurled and irreparably damaged.

References

External links

Windstorms Brochure
(PDF) from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Portland, Oregon * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Columbus Day Storm of 1962 1962 in Oregon 1962 meteorology 1962 natural disasters Natural disasters in Oregon Natural disasters in Washington (state) Pacific Northwest storms Natural disasters in British Columbia 1962 natural disasters in the United States 1962 disasters in Canada