On This Date: Northwest Windstorm Slams Washington State, Seattle

The Pacific Northwest experienced one of its most severe storms on October 21, 1934, targeting western Washington, northwestern Oregon, and British Columbia with destructive winds and powerful waves, occurring in October rather than the peak winter season.

In Seattle, wind gusts reached up to 70 mph, while Tacoma saw gusts of 83 mph, leading to widespread damage including downed trees, power and telephone service outages, shattered windows, roof removals, and building collapses that significantly impacted the area.

Specific incidents included the collapse of a large smokestack into Seattle's Church of the Immaculate Conception shortly after services ended, avoiding injuries, and at Boeing Field, a wind-lifted airplane hangar fell onto four aircraft, as noted by a University of Washington scientist.

Along the coast, winds up to 90 mph drove storm surges into Aberdeen and Hoquiam, Washington, flooding downtown areas with several feet of water and necessitating rescue operations, while thousands of trees were flattened from northwest Oregon to British Columbia.

The storm resulted in at least 19 fatalities and is regarded as one of the worst in Northwest history, comparable to the 1962 Columbus Day storm, with harrowing accounts such as the survival of all four keepers at Oregon's Tillamook Rock Lighthouse despite severe damage from winds and waves.