Storm Watching

hen the wind howls and drives the rain in horizontal sheets during the winter season along Oregon’s stormy coast, some folks batten down the hatches to stay warm and cozy inside. Hardier souls sally forth as peak wind gusts reach 80 mph or more and towering waves crash against bluffs, seawalls and jetties, tossing huge logs and other flotsam onto the beaches, and creating a spectacular show.

Once just a quirky pastime for local residents, coastal storm watching has long since evolved into a tourism niche.

Folks gather along the Oregon coastline to watch the wild winter waves from a Pacific Ocean turned surly. These voyeurs of nature’s wrath, colloquially known as storm watchers, venture to the shore for a front row view as roaring winds churn the moody ocean into a creamy froth, blow sheets of rain and sand horizontally along the beach, and stir up spectacular waves. According to meteorologists (weather scientists and forecasters), storm intensity generally ramps up toward the end of November and continues through March.

SAFETY FIRST Wind and waves are the two main ingredients of a storm worth watching.

Meteorologists say the most spectacular storms occur when deep low-pressure systems from way out in the eastern Pacific Ocean move northward close to the coast, and clash with inland high-pressure fronts. The greater the gradient - the pressure difference between the low and high systems - the stronger the wind. Those winds attract storm watchers, but also create conditions that can kill them.

The wind, limited visibility and unpredictable tides that make a winter storm so spectacular also create dangerous situations for unwary storm watchers. Waves have swept people off jetties and beaches, and wind has blown others off lookout points. Since 1990, more than 30 people have lost their lives on Oregon’s shores while storm watching, according to the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.

Common sense precautions are necessary. “Storm watching is energizing for children and adults alike, whether watching from a cozy oceanfront room or an unprotected bluff,” says Sandy Pfaff, director of the Lincoln City Visitor and Convention Bureau. “But beware. It’s not safe to be on the beach during the storms. In addition to throwing logs and other debris, the wrath of the Pacific creates large breakers that can snatch you from the sand or the rocks, an unplanned swim you likely would not survive. Head inside or for high ground.”

to respect the storm’s power and fury, and never place themselves in a precarious position.

Beaches are especially treacherous places during a winter storm. High tides can quickly push waves across the entire beach in a matter of seconds, catching inattentive visitors offguard. Waves and tides are considerably more unpredictable during a storm, and can carry away drift logs weighing hundreds, even thousands of pounds with bone-crushing force. The ocean’s churning water often carries driftwood and other debris onto normally safe public areas and waysides during major storms.

Stormy seas are best viewed from a safe distance and higher locations. To experience - without mishap - the remarkable ocean forces that shape the landscape along the Oregon coast, use common sense and these tips from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and the Portland office of the National Weather Service: • Stay off driftwood anytime, especially during storms. People can fall between logs or become trapped under them. It takes less than an inch of water to roll driftwood. • Find a lookout point from your car, hotel room, or restaurant where it’s safe to watch. • Never go in the water. • Be alert for falling trees or limbs on access roads or trails. • Stay off jetties and beaches. Storm waves are dangerous and unpredictable. • Stay away from the edges of cliffs, headlands and rocks with waves breaking on or near them. • Heed all warning signs and stay behind barriers. • Never turn your back on the ocean.

WHERE TO GO Favorite viewing sites on Oregon’s central coast (from north to south) are D River State Recreation Site and Road’s End State Recreation Site in Lincoln City; Boiler Bay Scenic Viewpoint one mile north of Depoe Bay; along the sea wall and inside the Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay; Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint two miles south of Depoe Bay; atop Cape Foulweather; Devil’s Punch Bowl State Recreation Site in Otter Rock; Yaquina Head Lighthouse and headlands and Yaquina Bay State Recreation Site in Newport; several pullouts near Seal Rock; north Yachats; Cape Perpetua - the highest point on the Oregon coast and most versatile site, featuring Cook’s Chasm (avoid the lowest viewing levels) and Devil’s Churn (with lookout shelter); and Strawberry Hill and Muriel Ponsler State Scenic Viewpoint (between Yachats and Florence).

Avoid Stonefield Beach State Recreation Area and Devil’s Elbow Beach at the Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint.

Some of the best waves arrive just after a windstorm or from offshore storms. After a storm is the best time to walk the beaches and do some serious beachcombing, remaining mindful of the waves, which still pack a punch even after the wind dies down.