Brookings escapes brunt of May storm

“Brookings is kind of tucked in along the coast, so the winds there were not as strong as elsewhere,” said Medford-based National Weather Service Meteorologist Sven Nelaimischkies.

The Curry Coastal Pilot’s weather station in downtown Brookings recorded a high wind of 35 mph at the height of Monday’s storm at 4:45 p.m.

The highest recorded winds elsewhere along the Curry County coastline were:

• Humbug Mountain: 81 mph;

•Cape Blanco: 76 mph;

•Port Orford: 56 mph;

•Quail Prairie: 54 mph;

Reports of downed trees and isolated power outages were reported throughout the county, but no storm-related accidents or injuries were reported, according to authorities.

“This is an abnormal weather system for May,” said NWS Meteorologist Mel Nordquist. “A storm like this in January would still be strong, but much more seasonally expected.”

A low-pressure system passing much closer to the coast than normal was responsible, Nordquist said.

On Monday morning, the NWS issued a gale-force wind warning, as well as a flood advisory for urban and small streams. The Pilot immediately issued an e-mail alert notifying several thousand readers about the warning.

The storm dropped more than 1 inch of rain in Brookings, but authorities reported receiving no calls of flooding.