The so-called “storm of the century” hit the eastern part of the
United States, killing hundreds and causing millions of dollars
in damages, on November 25, 1950.

Forming over North Carolina just before Thanksgiving, the storm
quickly moved north, striking western Pennsylvania, eastern
Ohio and West Virginia. These areas were blanketed with several
feet of snow for several days and travel was impossible for nearly
a week in some places.

An accompanying windstorm covered a far greater area. New York
City recorded a 94 mile-per-hour wind gust. At Bear Mountain, just
north of the city, a 140 mph gust was recorded.

On the morning of Friday, October 12, 1962—Columbus Day—a
massive storm hit the coast of northern California. The storm had originated several days earlier in the Pacific Ocean, about five
hundred miles north of Wake Island. 

Re-energized by a combination of unusual meteorological
conditions, the storm moved north with the gathering force
of a Category 3 hurricane. Originally named Typhoon Freda by meteorologists and called the Big Blow by many, it may have
been the most powerful extratropical cyclone ever to hit the
western United States.

Oregon experienced the full brunt of the typhoon and suffered
more damage than any other state. In addition to substantial
damage to thousands of buildings— residential, commercial,
and civic—and to miles of power lines, the severe winds
toppled countless trees in western Oregon’s forests.

The storm outranks all other natural disasters in the state in
terms of destruction and cost, including the 1903 Heppner
Flood. 

The intense winds left over a million people in Oregon without
electrical power, some of them for weeks.

      
ROSS SIMPSON

October 12th, 1962 saw landfall of Tropical Storm Freda on
to the Pacific Coast. The center of what was to become known
as the Columbus Day Storm paralleled the Northern California,
Oregon and Washington Coast a mere 50 miles away from
shore before it dissipated over Vancouver Island on October
17th, 1962.

Portland City Hall