High Winds Up to 60 Along Oregon Coast; Snow in Coast Range, Heavy Seas

Published 2/28/24 at 5:15 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Oregon Coast) – Heavy winds will be smacking the Oregon coast and parts of the Washington coast, steep seas may be causing some spectacular sights from rocky areas and some amounts of snow will be hitting the Oregon Coast Range.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a High Wind Warning for the south Oregon coast through Thursday night for Reedsport southward, with gusts up to 60 mph. Exposed headlands and open parts of Highway 101 will get the worst of it.

Yet Wednesday (today) will see some tough conditions for the northern Oregon coast as well.

“Southerly winds will strengthen Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night, strongest along the Oregon coast from Yachats to Oceanside where gusts up to 50-55 mph are expected,” the NWS said. “Gusts will not be as strong inland, generally peaking between 30-45 mph over the Willamette Valley and Portland/Vancouver metro. Be sure to secure loose outdoor objects and garbage cans. Isolated power outages and tree damage will also be possible. While unlikely, it's always best to be prepared for a potential outage.”

South Jetty, Warrenton (Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

There are a number of gale warnings and hazardous seas warnings for much of the Oregon coast, from everything north of Port Orford (which includes waters off Coos Bay, Florence, Newport, Oceanside, Manzanita, Astoria and parts of the Washington coast). The hazardous seas warning is in effect until Thursday afternoon, bringing seas up to as high as 15 feet.

The NWS said another system moves into the Oregon and Washington coast waters bringing seas up to 19 feet by Friday.

See Washington Coast Weather - Oregon Coast Weather

All these numbers likely mean great stormwatching conditions, but you'll want to do so in your vehicle or in an oceanfront hotel considering the wind conditions.

From late Wednesday through Friday, the upper stretches of the Oregon Coast Range may have some travel issues. A winter weather advisory is in effect for areas above 1500 feet, which luckily leaves most of Highway 18 and Highway 6 out of the problem areas.

Total snow accumulations of 2 to 7 inches are expected, the NWS said, and heavy winds may be encountered. Gusts up to 55 mph are possible.

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Shore Acres, courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast


Westport (courtesy Westport Visitors Center)

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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