Portland's Major Windstorms and Ice Storms Since 1962, and What Each One Did to Houses
The Portland metro does not get hurricanes or tornadoes. It gets something slower and, for a house, often worse: winter windstorms off the Pacific, and every few years an east wind ice storm that coats every tree, gutter and roof edge for days. This is the record of the ones that mattered, each anchored to an official source, with a note on the kind of damage that followed.
116 mph
Portland's record gust, Columbus Day 1962, near the Morrison Bridge
421,649
PGE customers who lost power in the February 2021 ice storm
4
federal disaster declarations for winter storms in the metro since 2012 (2012, 2021, 2024, 2025)
3 of 4
of the most recent declared events were ice or freezing rain, not wind
The events
Facts marked "Verified from source" were read directly from the linked official page during our review. Facts marked "From cited source" are carried from the linked NOAA, university or federal document and can be checked at the link.
Columbus Day Storm Verified from source
| Peak gust | 116 mph near the Morrison Street Bridge in Portland; 145 mph measured on the coast |
|---|---|
| Deaths | As many as 46 attributed to the storm |
| Damage | About $200 million in Oregon at the time, roughly $1.4 billion today; trees, homes and property demolished across western Oregon |
What it did to houses: The reference event for the region. Roofs peeled, thousands of large trees fell on houses, and power was out for weeks in places. Every wind design number in the modern building code for this area is measured against it.
Source: Oregon State University
December 12, 1995 windstorm From cited source
| Peak gust | 119 mph at Sea Lion Caves before the anemometer failed; 107 mph at Newport; over 100 mph at Astoria and Cape Blanco |
|---|---|
| Outages | About 205,000 Oregon customers |
| Damage | Many large trees uprooted in the Willamette Valley; regional damage over $200 million; five deaths |
What it did to houses: The strongest valley windstorm since 1962. Falling trees did most of the structural damage; wind driven rain at the coast pushed water past flashing that had never leaked before.
January 2004 snow and ice storm From cited source
| Ice | More than an inch of freezing rain in some locations |
|---|---|
| Wind | Gusts over 70 mph in the eastern metro during the blowing snow |
| Impact | Portland International Airport closed for two days |
What it did to houses: A week of ice load on gutters, tree limbs and roof edges. Gutters pulled loose under ice weight and ice dams pushed meltwater under shingles on low slope roofs.
Source: NOAA Storm Data, January 2004; American Meteorological Society conference summary
Hanukkah Eve windstorm From cited source
| Winds | 80 to 90 knots (about 92 to 104 mph) in the regional climatology |
|---|---|
| Outages | More than 1 million people across the region |
| Damage | Thousands of trees down; damage in the hundreds of millions; 18 deaths in the event summary |
What it did to houses: Mostly a Puget Sound event but strong enough in the Portland metro to bring down trees and strip roofing on exposed east side homes.
December 2008 arctic blast From cited source
| Snow | 12.9 inches at Portland International Airport over three days |
|---|---|
| Impact | Prolonged sub freezing period across the metro |
What it did to houses: Two weeks of freeze and thaw. Roof snow load was rarely the problem; the damage came from ice dams, frozen gutters and burst pipes in uninsulated walls.
January 2012 snow, wind and flooding From cited source
| Declaration | FEMA major disaster DR 4055 (Oregon), including Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah and Washington counties |
|---|
What it did to houses: Heavy rain on snowpack. Saturated soils, slides, and water in crawlspaces that had never flooded.
February 2021 ice storm Verified from source
| Outages | 421,649 Portland General Electric customers lost power |
|---|---|
| Damage | PGE described historic destruction from ice, wind and snow |
| Declaration | FEMA DR 4599 (Oregon); state emergency for Clackamas, Marion, Multnomah, Polk and Yamhill counties |
What it did to houses: The worst ice event in the metro in a generation. Ice loaded trees broke onto roofs, decks and siding across Clackamas County; gutters and fascia tore away under the weight; power was out for a week or more in the hardest hit neighborhoods.
Source: Portland General Electric; Oregon Department of Emergency Management, DR 4599
January 2024 ice storm Verified from source
| Declaration | Statewide emergency declared January 18, 2024; FEMA DR 4768 (Oregon) for severe winter storms, straight line winds, landslides and mudslides |
|---|---|
| Impact | Widespread power outages, infrastructure damage and transportation disruption reported by the Governor's office |
What it did to houses: Freezing rain over several days on top of an east wind. Trees and limbs down across the metro, roof and gutter damage from ice, and a spike in dry rot found the following summer where ice dammed meltwater had run behind siding.
Source: Office of the Governor, January 18, 2024; Oregon Department of Emergency Management, DR 4768
December 2025 wind and atmospheric river storms Verified from source
| Outages | More than 300,000 Oregonians without power at the peak |
|---|---|
| Damage | Record rainfall, flooding, landslides and mudslides; more than $15.4 million in eligible public damage documented |
| Declaration | FEMA DR 4907 (Oregon) for Clackamas, Hood River, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Polk, Tillamook, Union and Yamhill counties |
What it did to houses: Wind and saturation together. Wind pulled loose siding and roofing, then days of rain found every opening it made. Clackamas County homes on slopes saw drainage failures and crawlspace flooding.
What the pattern means for a house here
Windstorms are a coast and valley event: the record gusts are all on the coast or at the west edge of the valley, and in the metro the damage is mostly trees on roofs and stripped roofing on exposed east side homes. Ice storms are the opposite. They arrive on an east wind through the Columbia Gorge, so Gresham, Troutdale, Wood Village, Camas and Washougal ice first and hardest, then Clackamas County, then the rest of the metro.
The costly damage from ice is rarely the day the ice falls. It is the gutters and fascia that pulled away under the load, the shingles lifted by ice dams, and the water that ran behind siding during the thaw. That damage shows up as dry rot and stained drywall the following summer, and by then the insurance claim window is usually closed. The single most useful thing a homeowner can do after any of these events is a walk around the house with a camera the day the weather clears.
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Questions about storm damage
How were these events chosen?
Each one is documented by the National Weather Service, NOAA, Oregon emergency management, a FEMA declaration, a utility's official report, or a peer reviewed regional climatology, and each had a measurable impact on the Portland metro or Southwest Washington. Smaller storms that caused local damage are not listed. Numbers on this page come from the linked source for that event and nothing else.
Which does more damage to a house, wind or ice?
Ice, over the long run. Windstorms produce dramatic single day damage, mostly from falling trees. Ice storms load gutters, fascia and roof edges for days, force meltwater under shingles and behind siding, and the damage often shows up months later as dry rot rather than on the day of the storm.
What should be checked after a storm?
Gutters and downspouts still attached and draining; fascia boards behind them; roof edges and any place a limb landed; siding seams and window trim on the windward side; and the crawlspace for standing water. Anything that let water in during the storm keeps letting it in through the rest of the winter.
Does insurance cover storm damage?
Typically wind and falling tree damage is covered as a sudden event, while gradual moisture damage and dry rot discovered later usually is not, even when a storm started it. Document damage with dated photos right after the event. VResh provides written inspection findings that homeowners use for claims.
Will this page be updated?
Yes. Significant new events are added once an official summary or declaration exists. Last updated September 20, 2026.
Storm damage, or the dry rot it left behind?
VResh Construction repairs roof, siding, gutter and structural damage from wind and ice, and traces the moisture damage storms leave behind. We document findings in writing for insurance claims.