W E S T C OA S T
In Portland, countless cars were crushed or immobilized by the storm. (photo: Oregon Historical Society)
HURRICANE T H E G R E AT C O L U M B U S D AY S T O R M O F 1 9 6 2 written by Sig Unander ack Capell was puzzled. As the veteran television meteorologist sat at his desk in the U.S. Weather Bureau office in Portland amid clacking teletypes and office chatter, he looked over routine weather reports that had come in that October morning. Reviewing the sketchy data, he thought he saw—or sensed—something unusual. Capell was no novice. Ten years into a long career as a meteorologist in the Pacific Northwest, his calm, professional on-air presence was familiar to viewers. He had previously served in World War II
as a U.S. Army infantry soldier, surviving almost a year of combat before helping to liberate prisoners from a Nazi death camp at Dachau. In 1962 there was no Doppler radar, satellite imagery or computer-generated models. Meteorologists relied on spotty ship reports, data from far-flung weather stations and their own experience with volatile northwest weather patterns. Television weathermen drew crude isobars and arrows on white boards as they explained forecasts to viewers. SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2023
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