The National Weather Service in Washington reviewed the significant weather events of the 1900s. They took into account: The impact on people, property, and the economy.

Hurricane-force winds caused the 1940 collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The intense storm, with the iconic collapse of the "Galloping Gertie," didn't make the top 5 most severe weather events in Washington's History.

Here are the five most significant Washington weather events of the 1900s.

5 - Mt. St. Helens Blew Its Top

Mt. St. Helens was a picturesque American version of Japan’s Mt. Fuji. It stood proudly at 9,677 feet. At 8:32 am on May 18th, 1980, the mountain came to life and gushed 1.4 billion pounds of ash over Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, and Montana. 

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Mt. St. Helens, after losing a third of its former self, now only boasts a summit of 8,363 feet. 

4 - The Horrific Late Summer Forest Fires of 1910

On August 20th, 1910, Hurricane-force winds caused wildfires, already ablaze in the Pacific Northwest, to burn like a blowtorch. “The Big Blowup” caused three million acres of timber to burn.

President William Howard Taft deployed 4,000 troops to help the overwhelmed civilian firefighters. Smoke from this historic blaze made its way to the Atlantic coast.

3 - The Great Blizzard of 1950

The winter of 1949-50 was the coldest on record.

On January 13th, 1950. Eastern Washington, North Idaho, and parts of Oregon were covered in up to 50 inches.

Temps dipped down to negative 20 in some places. Seattle occasionally gets snow, but this system dumped over 21 inches.

2 - The Snowmelt Flood of 1948

A sudden snowmelt caused the most significant recorded flooding from northern Idaho to eastern Washington. The flood began in late May of 1948 and lasted nearly 4 weeks.

The image of Rock Island Dam, downstream from Wenatchee, during this aggressive snowmelt is mind-numbing.

During the snowmelt peak, the Methow River at Pateros, WA, was over 12 feet above flood stage. The Columbia River was bloated here in North Central Washington and all points south, to the Pacific.

1 - The Columbus Day Wind Storm

The date was October 12th, 1962. The fierce storm has the distinction of being the strongest known widespread non-hurricane windstorm in the continental US. Winds topped out at nearly 100 mph along Puget Sound. 

A large chunk of the Pacific Coast bore the brunt, as it wreaked havoc from Northern California to British Columbia. 

The storm’s central pressure dropped to around 960 millibars, comparable to a Category 3 hurricane. -Oregon Public Broadcasting

Forty-six people died in the windstorm.

There have been some wicked windstorms in my lifetime - but never one with gusts up to 150 miles per hour (recorded in Naselle.) 

From the Townsquare Media Archive Room, Rik Mikals takes another perspective on Washington Disasters - going beyond the 20th Century.