The Great Gale of 1880 was an intense

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 ...

(possibly deeper than 955 millibars (mb) or 28.20") that impacted the

Northwest United States The Northwestern United States, also known as the American Northwest or simply the Northwest, is an informal geographic region of the United States. The region consistently includes the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ...

on January 9, 1880. Gusts of an estimated 138 miles per hour hit the northwest coast. Buildings, barns, and fences were destroyed. The storm blew a three-masted schooner onto the beach at Coos Bay where it broke in two.

Newspaper reports and anecdotes

On January 19, 1880, a letter to ''The Daily Oregonian'' from an Astoria resident reads,

From the graphic, and, in some cases, the heart-rending accounts published in the Oregonian descriptive of the disasters resulting from the late severe windstorms in other portions of the state and the neighboring territory, it would appear that our town and county suffered less injury than almost any other.

Parts of the lower

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

seem to have experienced a blizzard, as related from Westport:

On the 9th at 2 o-clock P.M., a storm of snow and wind set in and continued for two hours with all the fury of a hurricane.

As documented in the ''Morning Oregonian'', Polk County reported "the heaviest wind storm ever known in these parts" and the Dallas ''Itemizer'' said "The storm of Friday was considered very severe here at that time, but since the reports of the havoc in other places, we have concluded that we had no storm here to speak of." An article printed on January 12, 1880 noted,

The storm near the mouth of the Columbia seems to have been entirely distinct from the one which swept through 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 ...
, and scarcely as severe or prolonged. The wind was from the northwest, and did not commence to blow violently until nearly 2 o'clock Friday afternoon.

In the

Fort Clatsop Fort Clatsop was the encampment of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the Oregon Country near the mouth of the Columbia River during the winter of 1805–1806. Located along the Lewis and Clark River at the north end of the Clatsop Plains approxi ...

area along the

Lewis and Clark River The Lewis and Clark River is a tributary of Youngs River, approximately long, in northwest Oregon in the United States. It drains of the Northern Oregon Coast Range in the extreme northwest corner of the state, entering Youngs River just above ...

, it was reported

The wind changed suddenly to the west, and while the trees were heavily laden with snow, struck the forest with terrific effect.

In contrast to the north coast, a letter from Newport printed in ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 18 ...

'' on January 17, 1880 reported

We have just experienced one of the severest gales; nothing like it has occurred since the settlement of the bay. It was southeast, lasted about five hours, and was terrible in force… The tide rose seven feet higher than was ever known; nearly all the old wharves are taken away.

There was no snowfall on the coastal hills around Newport, but "several miles from here it is five inches, and gradually deepens as you go east. Said to be 18 inches deep at

Siletz, Oregon Siletz ( , Tolowa: sii-let-ts’i ) is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,212 at the 2010 census. The city is located next to the Siletz Reservation and is the site of the annual Nesika Illahee Pow Wow in Augus ...

." Further south, it was reported on January 19 that Gardiner was struck with a "perfect gale" that threw large breakers ashore and shoved water into a warehouse, threatening livestock. "The rain came down in torrents," and the

Umpqua River The Umpqua River ( ) on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west ...

and Smith River flooded high, adding to the wet mess. "The storm raged with great violence at

Coos Bay Coos Bay is an estuary where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, the estuary is approximately 12 miles long and up to two miles wide. It is the largest estuary completely within Oregon state lines. The Coos Bay watershed covers an area of abou ...

." The three-masted schooner ''Emma Utter'' dragged anchor and was smashed ashore. The powerful gale struck much of the Willamette Valley in the mid to late morning. For example, "the heaviest windstorm ever known in these parts" struck Monmouth, in Polk County, at about 11 AM. The strong winds also struck the city of Corvallis at 11 AM, with the gale lasting until about 3 PM, and started around 9 AM in Blodgett in the coast range to the west. In Portland, the powerful wind began at 11 AM, and lasted until about 2:30 PM.

References

External links

The January 9, 1880 "Storm King"
{{Oregon Pioneer History 1880 meteorology Natural disasters in Oregon Pacific Northwest storms Weather events in the United States 1880 natural disasters in the United States January 1880 events

Newspaper reports and anecdotes

See also

References

External links