The Columbus Day Storm of 1962 (also known as the Big Blow, and originally 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 Friday October 12, 1962. 
    
 

Scoreboard at Gresham High School in Gresham, Oregon.

A car flattened by a brick wall at NW 3rd and Everett St. in Portland, Oregon.

Peak gusts during Columbus Day Storm

The Columbus Day Storm of 1962 was a Pacific Northwest windstorm, that
struck the West Coast of Canada and the Pacific Northwest coast of the
United States. It was the remnants of Typhoon Freda. Most storm analysts
rate this windstorm as the most powerful to strike the Pacific Northwest
during the 20th Century.

A downed tree in Salem, Oregon.

Storm damage in McMinnville, Oregon.