Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm of 2006

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Hanukkah Eve Windstorm (2006)

Powerful Hanukkah Eve Storm offshore Washington Coast taken on December 15, 2006 at 2:00 UTC.

Storm type:

Extratropical Windstorm

Formed:

December 13, 2006

Dissipated:

December 15, 2006

Maximum
amount¹:

Unknown. Peak wind gust of 114mph at Mt. Hebo, Oregon

Lowest
pressure:

970 hPa

Damages:

$267 million+ (2006 USD) in US, $49 million+ (2006 CAD) in Canada

Fatalities:

Areas affected:

Washington, Oregon, Idaho^[1], Vancouver Island and Southern British Columbia

¹Maximum snowfall or ice accretion

The Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm of 2006 was a powerful Pacific storm that slammed into the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and southern British Columbia, Canada between December 14, 2006 and December 15, 2006. The storm produced storm to hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rainfall, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and leaving over 1.8 million residences and businesses without power. 18 people were killed, most of whom died of carbon monoxide poisoning in the days following the storm because of improper use of barbecue cookers and generators indoors. The National Weather Service office in Seattle held a naming contest and chose "Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm of 2006" out of about 8,000 entries.^[2]

1 Impact
2 Total damages
3 Post-storm controversy
4 Peak wind gusts
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Impact

[edit] Washington

The storm left heavy damage across Washington, especially tree damage. The fallen trees knocked down many power lines and closed many roads as well. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport partially lost power, cancelling most flights. Flooding was also reported in low-lying areas from the heavy rain.^[3]

Storm damage at an Olympia, Washington apartment complex.

The electricity grid was very hard hit, as about 1.2 million customers lost power in the state, and Puget Sound Energy reported that over 75% of its circuits were damaged. Municipal utilities also suffered severe damage.^[4] In the Seattle area, several days after the storm hundreds of thousands of families still remained without power and many had to leave their homes and move into hotels or emergency shelters coping with the inclement weather.^[5]^[6] Major employers in the area were affected; the power outage forced Microsoft to shut down large portions of its campus in Redmond on December 15th.^[7] 14 people were killed in Western Washington. One of them was 41-year old voice actress Kate Fleming who was trapped in a flooded basement in Seattle's Madison Valley. In Grays Harbor County Markus Stickles was killed by a tree that fell into his home in McCleary. In the same county, Pritchard Miller and his dog were electrocuted after stepping on a downed power line. In Pierce County, there were two motorists that were hit by falling trees. 47-year old Eatonville resident Harold Fox was killed while trying to avoid a fallen tree south of Spanaway. Near McKenna, 37-year old Roy resident Bonnie Bacus died as a result of a tree falling onto the cab of their truck; her husband, who was driving the truck, survived. Steven Thielen died in Spanaway as a result of a house fire caused by the use of candles for light.

Eight deaths occurred as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning. The largest single deadliest occurrence were the deaths of a family of four in Burien. Khanh Tran, his wife, Dan Thuy Nguyen, and two sons, John Quoc Trah, 14 and Quyen Tran, 21, died of asphyxiation by a generator running in a closed garage attached to their home. Another son, Doanh Tran, 24, died in a hospital on January 20, 2007 as a result of his injuries.^[8] Alejandro Nava-Solis of Kirkland, Juan Figueroa-Gomez of Renton, and Shah Fazli of Kenmore were also among the carbon monoxide deaths.^[9]

It was described as the worst storm to hit the region since the Inauguration Day storm of January 20, 1993.^[10]

[edit] Newspapers

For the first time in 70 years, on December 15th the Seattle Post Intelligencer was not able to publish copies of their newspaper. As a result of a power outage at a printing plant in Bothell, the Seattle Times was only able to publish 13,000 copies of their Friday edition.

Wind damage in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle.

The following day, both newspaper companies had to resort to having their newspapers printed by The News Tribune of Tacoma by virtue of an agreement to use each others' printing presses during emergencies. ^[11]

For its December 20th edition, the Seattle Times put carbon monoxide warnings on its front page in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Somali, and Russian to get the word out to the immigrant community about the dangers of carbon monoxide in light of recent deaths.^[12]

[edit] State of emergency and recovery

On December 18th, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire declared a state of emergency in Western Washington as a result of the damages. On January 11th, the Governor requested a federal disaster declaration and on February 14th, the declaration was approved by President Bush.

[edit] Air quality

In the wake of the storm, the quality of air deteriorated due to the increased use of wood stoves and fireplaces while the air was stagnant. ^[13]

[edit] Oregon

The high winds also left damage in Oregon. Extensive tree damage was reported, some of which fell on houses or on power lines. Over 350,000 customers lost power at the peak of the storm. Shelters were opened in the coastal regions as a result of the storm damage.^[14] Governor Ted Kulongoski requested a federal disaster declaration on January 31, 2007.^[15]

Two people were killed due to a house fire in Seaside during a power outage.^[16] The severe weather also hampered the rescue efforts of three missing climbers on Mount Hood; one climber was later found dead and the other two are missing and presumed dead. On the Oregon Coast, three sailors hired to sail a catamaran from South Africa to Seattle are missing. The 50ft boat was found overturned on a beach near Lincoln City the morning of December 15th. The crew was last seen leaving San Francisco on December 8th.^[17] The search for the three sailors was called off on the afternoon of December 16th.^[18]

Animation of Hanukkah Eve Storm approaching the West Coast of North America.

[edit] British Columbia

For British Columbia, the storm was one out of several others that occurred in the preceding weeks. Extensive damage was reported to trees, which also took power lines down with them. Ferry service was disrupted across the province, along with other transit disruption, closed roads, and closed schools. At its peak, BC Hydro reported that over 250,000 customers were without power.^[19]

An elderly couple died of asphyxiation as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning in Burnaby.^[20]

[edit] Total damages

Washington and Oregon suffered a total of $220 million in insured damages according to the Northwest Insurance Council. Washington suffered $170 million in damages and Oregon $50 million.^[21] $47 million in damages to public property resulted from the windstorm in Washington State with "several million dollars in damages" to public property in Oregon.^[22]

In British Columbia, insured damages are expected to reach $40 million and at Vancouver's Stanley Park repairs are expected to cost $9 million becuase of numerous fallen trees and damage to the seawall.^[23]^[24]

[edit] Post-storm controversy

Landslide in the Madison Valley neighborhood of Seattle.

Soon after the windstorm, controversy began in Seattle over the drowning death of Kate Fleming as well as the issue of possible problems with storm water drainage which some believe may have lead to her death and the flood damage of several homes on the evening of December 14th. Seattle received 0.86 inches of rain between 4pm and 5pm, leading to major urban flooding.^[25] A city report released on February 27, 2007 stated that sweeping changes were necessary in emergency response services to better mitigate the effects of a nature disaster on the city, such as the establishment of a 311 hot line for non-emergency calls, the installment of emergency generators in every fire station in the city and reconsideration of relying on builders to ensure that storm drains aren't clogged by sediment filters.

Home of the late Kate Fleming.

The death of Kate Fleming is being investigated by Denver-based CH2M Hill and the investigation is expected to be completed by the end April 2007.^[26]

[edit] Peak wind gusts

Wind gusts were as high as 70-100mph+ in some locations along the Washington and Oregon Coasts as well as the mountains. Interior locations of Puget Sound and Willamette Valley had gusts in the 50-70mph+ range.^[27]^[28]

In addition to the wind, record-breaking rainfall fell in Seattle with nearly an inch in a one hour period the afternoon of December 14th. Such a rainfall event is only expected in Seattle every 99 years.^[29]