December 2007 Pacific Northwest storms

Great Coastal Gale of 2007

Intense third in the series of Pacific storms battering the Pacific Northwest. Image taken on December 3, 2007 at 9:30 UTC.
Type	Extratropical cyclones
Formed	November 29, 2007 (Dec. 3 storm)
Dissipated	December 4, 2007 (Dec. 3 storm)
Lowest pressure	952 millibars (28.1 inHg) (Dec. 3 storm)
Highest gust	147 mph (237 km/h) at Naselle Ridge, Washington
Damage	$1.18 billion (2007 USD)
Casualties	18 fatalities
Areas affected	Washington, Oregon, extreme Northern California, Vancouver Island, and southern British Columbia
Part of the 2007–08 North American winter storms

The Great Coastal Gale of 2007 was a series of three powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between December 1, 2007 and December 4, 2007.

The storms on December 2 and 3 produced an extreme long-duration wind event with hurricane-force wind gusts of up to 137 mph (220 km/h) at Holy Cross, Washington on the Washington Coast, and 129 mph (208 km/h) at Bay City, Oregon on the Oregon Coast. The storm also brought heavy rains and produced widespread record flooding throughout the region, and was blamed for at least 18 deaths.

Meteorologists at the Oregon Climate Service named the storm in January 2008, drawing from the Great Gale of 1880, a similar powerful storm that affected the region in 1880.

On November 29, 2007, a strong low pressure system, fed by the remnants of Typhoon Mitag and Typhoon Hagibis, formed in the central Pacific Ocean, and was carried via the Pineapple Express to the Pacific Northwest. Anticipating the storm, the National Weather Service issued its first-ever hurricane-force wind warning for the Oregon coast.

The first of the three separate storms arrived on December 1, accompanying frigid temperatures across much of Washington which resulted in many areas across Washington receiving up to 14 inches (360 mm) of snowfall. On December 2, the second storm, which provided considerable amounts of rainfall, yet still packing cold temperatures, dumped even more snow across parts of the state, resulting in several districts in Mason County and Kitsap County to close due to heavy snow. At around 5:30 in the afternoon, the snow began to cease, and turned into a light rain across Washington.