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60 years ago today, a massive storm with hurricane-force winds boomed across the Pacific Northwest, leaving widespread destruction from southern British Columbia to northern California.

The Columbus Day Storm of 1962 was the biggest, most vicious windstorm in the recorded history of the West Coast. Beginning on October 12, it raced from Northern California to southern British Columbia, delivering heavy rainfall and winds gusting over 100 miles per hour.

The colossal weather event is largely attributed to the remnants of Typhoon Freda, which formed in early October. The remnants regained intensity after moving into an area where cool air from the Gulf of Alaska met warm, moist tropical air. This combination allowed the system to gain strength as it moved up the West Coast, becoming an intense low pressure system. The addition of a strong west-to-east pressure gradient with the northward path of the storm steered the system between the Coast Range and the Cascades, right up the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

The result was the only major windstorm on record in the Pacific Northwest for October. During the storm, the pressure level dropped to at least 960 millibars, which is typically equivalent to pressure levels in a Category 3 hurricane.

As the storm began, it dumped heavy rain on California, forcing the postponement of Game 6 of the 1962 World Series at San Francisco's Candlestick Park between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees. As it moved into Oregon, the rain lessened but the winds intensified with the pressure change.

The entire western portion of Oregon was battered by strong gusts and sustained periods of high winds. Cape Blanco, which is considered one of the windiest spots along the Oregon coast, recorded the highest official gust of 145 mph. Portland, Ore., recorded a gust of 116 mph and Mount Hebo Air Force Station logged a gust of 130 mph.

A manually operated wind gauge in Corvallis recorded a gust of 127 mph, before the operator fled, leaving a note behind that simply said, "abandoned station." Sustained winds reached as high as 69 mph.

The storm greatly affected Washington too before dissipating. Intense winds battered the state, with a 100-mph gust in Renton and 98 mph gust in Bellingham. Olympia recorded a 78-mph gust and McChord Air Force Base saw an 88-mph gust.

The storm killed dozens, injured hundreds more, and damaged or destroyed nearly 53,000 homes in western Oregon and western Washington. It was considered the worst natural disaster in the country in 1962. The only weather-related event in Oregon history that was worse was the Heppner Flood in 1903, which resulted in 247 fatalities.

Estimates put the dollar damage at approximately $230 million to $280 million for California, Oregon, and Washington combined. The economic impact just in Oregon was an estimated $200 million at the time, which is equal to around $1.4 billion in today's dollars.

Sources: oregonstate.edu, weather.gov, climate.washington.edu
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Story Image: Damage from the 1962 Columbus Day Storm in Newberg, Ore. (NWS Portland/Wikimedia Commons)

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On This Day In 1962: The Columbus Day Storm