Oregon Coast is Clear - Saturday's Winds a Dud

Published 10/15/2016 at 8:51 PM PDT - Updated 10/16/2016 at 8:51 AM PDT
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – After an unnerving three days along the Oregon coast -including high winds, minor flooding and two tornadoes - residents were expecting even worse with all the wind and surf warnings for Saturday. But today's storm never lived up to the predicted 60 mph gusts and resultant damage. (Photo by Angi Wildt: minor flooding today in Seaside).

Now, ODOT and the National Weather Service have declared the coast is clear, with no road issues, no power outages and all wind warnings dropped. Surf, however, is still heavy along the coast, but even that is posing no threat to property and instead simply putting on a good show.

If anything, parts of the inland valley had it worse, even if the winds were never as strong as on the coastline. In the Portland metro area, several areas had power outages, while Bandon was the only coastal town to be in the dark.

Particularly worried were Manzanita residents, who were still trying to clean up the massive mess left by a tornado that tore up at least three businesses on Friday morning – and over 120 homes. Crews and residents assumed Saturday's storm would completely halt cleanup efforts as well as create more havoc.

That tornado was classified as an EF2, meaning about 120 mph winds. Another tornado touched down at Oceanside that morning but dissipated immediately, leaving no damage. See Two Tornadoes on Oregon Coast; Manzanita Severely Damaged, Video.

Brian Hines, owner of San Dune Inn in Manzanita, said luckily power came back early Friday evening, and most businesses in town were open today. The building housing a clothing shop, an ice cream shop and the wine bar Vino was essentially destroyed.

“It was windy and it rained hard today, though,” Hines said. (See high winds video from Seaside today).

Winds along the Oregon coast today were generally not as harsh as predicted, although some high spots and headlands saw sizable action. In most cases, sustained winds were not much more than 30 mph during that heavy period of noon to 3 p.m. Most areas saw about 10 – 20 mph the majority of the time.

Peak wind gusts were mostly in the 30 to 50 mph range. Cape Meares and Mt. Hebo saw peaks around 80 mph in the afternoon – by far the highest. Pacific City's peak was 61 mph, Rockaway Beach was at 21 mph, Newport at 51 mph, Yachats saw 63 mph and Oceanside's highest gust was 43 mph.

Surf was another story. While it caused no damage, the last three days of broiling ocean conditions yanked out a lot of sand. In Lincoln City's Nelscott neighborhood, Rock Your World gallery owner Laura Joki noted the huge mound of sand created by summer's wave actions disappeared over a matter of hours. See Joki's high tide video in Lincoln City.

Even though Friday was supposed to be the calm before the big storm of today, it was Friday that seemed to have the most dramatic wave action.

Seaside however, was the recipient of a major log jam at the 12th Ave bridge on the Necanicum River. Other photos from yesterday and today taken by resident Angi Wildt show the remarkable sights in town, notably the differences between high tides and the latter part of Saturday with extremely calm conditions. (See video)

On Sunday, surf should still be somewhat high, although there are no warnings. Seas will be at about 17 feet but breezes more on the steady side rather than heavy side, likely providing some good storm watching conditions. Look for plenty of rain, however. Oregon Coast Hotels for this - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

Photos above courtesy Laura Joki, Rock Your World Gallery; Nelscott beach at 2 p.m. (top) and earlier at noon (bottom). Photos below of Seaside on Saturday, courtesy Angi Wildt.

Below: tornado damage in Manzanita, courtesy Amy VanDyke, Sunset Vacation Rentals

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