November 2024 Northeast Pacific bomb cyclone
 | This article documents a current extratropical storm. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (November 2024) |
 Picture of a bomb cyclone off the Pacific Northwest coast on the afternoon of November 19, 2024 | |
| Meteorological history | |
|---|---|
| Formed | c. November 18, 2024 |
| Extratropical cyclone | |
| Highest gusts | 102 mph (164 km/h) [1]a |
| Lowest pressure | 942 hPa (mbar); 27.82 inHg[2] |
| Overall effects | |
| Fatalities | ≥2[3] |
| Areas affected | British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California |
| Power outages | ≥930,000[4][5][6] |
Part of the 2024–25 North American winter | |
A powerful extratropical cyclone developed circa November 18, 2024 in the Northeast Pacific and struck the Western United States and Western Canada.[7][8] The storm was associated with an atmospheric river that dropped large amounts of rain in Oregon and California. The storm underwent bombogenesis, rapidly dropping its central pressure[9] to a record-tying level of 942 mb.[7]
Impact
[edit]British Columbia
[edit]In the Canadian province of British Columbia, over 200 thousand customers of BC Hydro were left without power.[6] Highways 4, 14, 18, and 28—all on Vancouver Island—were closed due to debris and downed power lines. On Sartine Island, a gust of 159 kilometres per hour (99 mph) was reported.[10]
Washington
[edit]
Around 650,000 people were left without power across western Washington.[4] In Lynnwood, Washington, a woman in her 50s was killed by a large tree that fell onto a homeless encampment.[11] In the Bridle Trails neighborhood of Bellevue, a woman was killed when a tree hit a home.[12][13] A gust of 77 miles per hour (124 km/h) was reported at Sunrise in Mount Rainier National Park, while 74 miles per hour (119 km/h) gusts were recorded in Enumclaw.[14]
Four northbound lanes of Interstate 405 were closed by a tree that fell into the highway near the Interstate 90 interchange in Bellevue.[15] The National Weather Service weather radio transmitter went off the air during the storm.[16]
An Amtrak Cascades train struck a fallen tree near Stanwood, Washington, and disrupted service.[17] Amtrak cancelled several Empire Builder and Coast Starlight trips through the region in anticipation of the storm.[18] Link light rail service in the Seattle area was also disrupted by power outages; the northernmost section of the 1 Line was closed for several hours on November 19 and replaced by bus shuttles between Northgate and Lynnwood City Center stations.[19] The entire 2 Line between Bellevue and Redmond was suspended on November 20 and replaced by buses.[20] Washington State Ferries cancelled several sailings on its Port Townsend–Coupeville ferry route due to high winds across the Admiralty Inlet.[19]
Oregon
[edit]The highest wind speed in Oregon, 73 miles per hour, was recorded at the Yaquina Bay Bridge in Newport. Corbett, Eugene, and Florence recorded peak gusts of 50, 52, and 67 miles per hour (80, 84, and 108 km/h), respectively. Winds of 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) were recorded at Portland International Airport.[21] Approximately 10,000 people in the Portland metropolitan area lost power.[5]
California
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024) |
Near the Oregon-California border, Interstate 5 was closed due to heavy snow.[22]
Notes
[edit]- ^a The 102 mph wind was recorded on an offshore buoy. The strongest recorded wind on land was 99 mph.
References
[edit]- ^ Rice, Doyle; Yancey-Bragg, N'dea (November 20, 2024). "'Bomb cyclone' strikes: 1 dead, widespread power outages in Washington". Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ Asherman, Jacob (November 20, 2024). "Record-setting bomb cyclone, intense as a hurricane, to lash Northwest". WPC.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "'Bomb cyclone' kills at least 2 and knocks out power in Pacific Northwest". Associated Press. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "Storm Unleashes Heavy Rain in Washington State, Leaving Nearly 600,000 Without Power". New York Times. November 20, 2024. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b "Thousands lose power as wild weather whacks Portland metro". KOIN.com. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Brockman, Charles (November 19, 2024). "Over 200,000 BC Hydro customers without power as 'bomb cyclone' winds hit". CityNews Vancouver. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Noll, Ben (November 19, 2024). "Record-setting bomb cyclone, intense as a hurricane, to lash Northwest". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
- ^ Cliff Mass (November 18, 2024). "The Deepest Low Pressure Center in Northwest History? Damaging Winds West of the Cascades". Cliff Mass weather blog.
- ^ "Bomb cyclone meets atmospheric river: When will it hit the Bay Area?". KRON4. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Highways closed, thousands without power as 'bomb cyclone' hits B.C. coast". CBC News. November 19, 2024. Archived from the original on November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ Phair, Vonnai (November 19, 2024). "Woman killed by fallen tree in Lynnwood during Seattle wind storm". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Woman dies after tree falls into home in Bellevue during storm". KIRO 7 News. November 20, 2024.
- ^ "WA windstorm: Woman killed in Bridle Trails area by fallen tree". The Seattle Times. November 20, 2024.
- ^ Bsanti, Puneet (November 20, 2024). "Live updates: Bomb cyclone wreaks destruction in Western WA, parts of Pierce County". The News Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Downed tree blocks four lanes of NB I-405 near I-90". Seattle: KIRO-TV. November 20, 2024.
- ^ @NWSSeattle (November 20, 2024). "Update: Seattle area Weather Radio KHB60 (162.550 MHz) is off air until further notice..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Shawn Garrett (November 19, 2024). "Amtrak train strikes fallen tree in Snohomish County". KIRO 7 News.
- ^ "Winter Storm to impact Washington, Oregon, and Northern California" (Press release). Amtrak. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ a b Deshais, Nicholas (November 20, 2024). "What the Western WA windstorm means for buses, light rail and ferries". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "WA windstorm: Bomb cyclone leaves erratic path of destruction in its wake". The Seattle Times. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "These were the top wind speeds recorded during Oregon's bomb cyclone". kgw.com. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ Edwards, Anthony (November 20, 2024). "Interstate 5 closed near California-Oregon border as huge storm dumps multiple feet of snow". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 21, 2024.