Surface analysis of the storm near its peak intensity[1]
Meteorological history
Formed
September 28, 1962
Extratropical
October 10, 1962
Dissipated
October 17, 1962
Category 3-equivalent typhoon
1-minute sustained (SSHWS/JTWC)
Highest winds
185 km/h (115 mph)
Lowest pressure
948 hPa (mbar); 27.99 inHg
Extratropical cyclone
Highest gusts
170 mph (270 km/h)
Lowest pressure
960 hPa (mbar); 28.35 inHg
Overall effects
Fatalities
46
Damage
$230 million (1962 USD)
Areas affected
Northern California, Pacific Northwest, Canada
Part of the 1962 Pacific typhoon season and 1962–63 North American winter
The Columbus Day storm of 1962 (also known as the big blow of 1962,[2] and originally in Canada as Typhoon Freda) was a Pacific Northwest windstorm that struck the West Coast of Canada and the Pacific Northwest coast of the United States on October 12, 1962. Typhoon Freda was the twenty-eighth tropical depression, the twenty-third tropical storm, and the eighteenth typhoon of the 1962 Pacific typhoon season. Freda originated from a tropical disturbance over the Northwest Pacific on September 28. On October 3, the system strengthened into a tropical storm and was given the name Freda, before becoming a typhoon later that day, while moving northeastward. The storm quickly intensified, reaching its peak as a Category 3-equivalent typhoon on October 5, with maximum 1-minute sustained winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) and a minimum central pressure of 948 millibars (28.0 inHg). Freda maintained its intensity for another day, before beginning to gradually weaken, later on October 6. On October 9, Freda weakened into a tropical storm, before transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on the next day. On October 11, Freda turned eastward and accelerated across the North Pacific, before striking the Pacific Northwest on the next day. On October 13, the cyclone made landfall on Washington and Vancouver Island, and then curved northwestward. Afterward, the system moved into Canada and weakened, before being absorbed by another developing storm to the south on October 17.
The Columbus Day storm of 1962 is considered to be the benchmark of extratropical wind storms. The storm ranks among the most intense to strike the region since at least 1948, likely since the January 9, 1880 "Great Gale" and snowstorm. The storm is a contender for the title of the most powerful extratropical cyclone recorded in the U.S. in the 20th century; with respect to wind velocity, it is unmatched by the March 1993 "storm of the century" and the "1991 Halloween Nor'easter" ("the perfect storm"). The system brought strong winds to the Pacific Northwest and southwest Canada, and was linked to 46 fatalities in the northwest and Northern California resulting from heavy rains and mudslides.
^"Daily Weather Maps: October 13, 1962". U.S. Weather Bureau. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
^Burt, Christopher C. (2004), Extreme Weather: A Guide and Record Book, W.W. Norton & Co., p. 236, ISBN 978-0-393-32658-1
and 20 Related for: Columbus Day storm of 1962 information
The ColumbusDaystormof1962 (also known as the big blow of1962, and originally in Canada as Typhoon Freda) was a Pacific Northwest windstorm that struck...
may refer to: An 1880 storm on the Great Lakes Great Lakes Stormof 1913 Great Olympic Blowdown of 1921 ColumbusDayStormof1962 The Big Blow novel (2000)...
Airport (HIO), Hillsboro Oregon. On one of its more eventful flights for KISN it survived the ColumbusDayStormof1962 without damage after its evening traffic...
Service. In the twentieth century, only the ColumbusDayStormof1962 was stronger. The storm started southwest of Washington and tracked northeast. Barometric...
Netherlands. ColumbusDayStormof1962, Pacific Northwest windstorm. Great Stormof 1975, central and southeast United States. Braer Stormof January 1993...
Pacific Northwest coast of the United States as a potent extratropical cyclone, and became known as the ColumbusDayStormof1962. Typhoon Freda (1965)...
Devastating Inaugural DayStormof 1993, University of Washsington Stacia Glenn (October 12, 2012), "Memories of devastating 1962ColumbusDaystorm run deep through...
pressure of 913.54 hPa (26.977 inHg). Weather portal United Kingdom portal Europe portal Perfect storm Typhoon Tip Great Gale of 1880 ColumbusDayStormof 1962...
the storm was estimated at several hundred million dollars (2021 USD). The bomb cyclone was compared to the ColumbusDayStormof1962, in terms of ferocity...
were unsuccessful in selling it. Extensive damage caused by the ColumbusDayStorm in 1962 caused the owners to consider demolishing the building. The community...
Strongest tropical cyclone on record with a pressure of 870 mbar (26 inHg) ColumbusDayStormof1962 and October 2021 Northeast Pacific bomb cyclone – Strongest...
remnants of Typhoon Freda that were absorbed by the ColumbusDayStormof1962. According to the Canadian Hurricane Centre, Hurricane Ella of 1978 is the...
was replaced in 1925. The current Gym was rebuilt following the ColumbusDaystorm in 1962. In 2018, the building was deemed unsafe. Therefore, it was rebuilt...
loaned to Portland, Oregon's KGW-TV, due to the damage from the ColumbusDayStormof1962. In February 1958, KIRO-TV (channel 7) took to the air as the...
many trees fell due to the ColumbusDayStormof1962, Weyerhaeuser Steamship Company charter ships to take the surplus of lumber Japan. Ships are chartered...
cylindrical fountain was erected in 1912. It was damaged during the ColumbusDayStormof1962, and has been replaced by a low, modern pool fountain. Oregon...
Surpassed only by the Heppner Flood of 1903, the Vanport Flood of 1948, the ColumbusDayStormof1962, and the Tillamook Burn of 1933, 1939, 1945, and 1951....
heavily damaged in the ColumbusDayStormof1962, they purchased a former dairy farm outside of Oregon City, where they spent the rest of their lives. They...
Global Information