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The highest wind speeds ever recorded in Washington state were clocked near a small city in Pacific County more than 60 years ago, and it happened twice during two separate storms.

Windstorm season is well underway in the Pacific Northwest, and for many, it鈥檚 their favorite time of the meteorological year. It鈥檚 also something of a tradition to share the old stories of record gusts and fallen trees, and it鈥檚 a rare Oct. 12 that passes without some mention of the 1962 Columbus Day Storm.

In those Columbus Day musings, it鈥檚 often mentioned that the highest windspeed recorded in Washington occurred at a Cold War-era Air Force radar station across the Columbia River from Astoria.

That highest windspeed was a gust of an incredible 161 miles per hour. The specific location where it happened is known as Radar Ridge, which is not far from the small town of Naselle. Four radar domes 鈥� or 鈥渞adomes鈥� 鈥� with radar antennas inside were located on the ridge, with support facilities located at the base of the ridge, not far from the highway. As many as 200 people, a combination of active duty Air Force and civilians, worked there in the 1950s and 1960s.

What鈥檚 unusual and often unmentioned is that this 161-mile-per-hour reading didn鈥檛 only happen in 1962 on Columbus Day. It also happened 65 years ago on November 3, 1958, when another mostly forgotten big storm blew through the Northwest. This storm wasn鈥檛 as destructive 鈥� and it wasn鈥檛 given a name 鈥� but it did result in at least two deaths in Washington.

Both deadly incidents took place in Pierce County. Downed powerlines electrocuted a farmer south of Roy, and a college student was killed in Parkland by the same kind of hazard when a tree fell on powerlines in front of the student union building at what was then called Pacific Lutheran College (now Pacific Lutheran University).

was the name of the military installation that recorded the two identical windspeeds four years apart. It was only in operation for about 15 years, from 1950 to 1965, which explains why weather reports and windspeed readings don鈥檛 come from there anymore and haven鈥檛 for 58 years.

The wind instrument located there, an made by Bendix-Friez, a once-respected American instrument manufacturer, was connected electronically to the compressors that kept the big radomes around the radar antennas inflated. With data from the anemometer, the compressors responded to wind speed changes automatically.

Radar Ridge is about 2,200 feet above sea level, and it鈥檚 just a few miles north of the Columbia River and upriver from the river鈥檚 mouth, so it鈥檚 an exposed spot. More than 200 years ago, Lewis and Clark camped along the Columbia south of there and got pinned down by a windstorm on November 22, 1805.

鈥淥, how horriable (sic) is the day,鈥� wrote William Clark, who was never much of a speller.

And while the pronunciation of 鈥渉orriable鈥� may not be too hard to guess at, the correct pronunciation of Naselle apparently presents some challenges. The popular pronunciation guide prepared for broadcasters by Hugh Rundell and originally published by WSU in the 1960s emphasizes the second syllable: 鈥渘ay-SELL.鈥� However, an informal survey of businesses in the Naselle area this week seemed to indicate that this may have changed.

told 成人X站 Newsradio that the name of the town where she鈥檚 lived all her life is pronounced 鈥淣AY-sell,鈥� with the emphasis on the first syllable. Similar assertions were made by those who answered the phone at a hardware store, an asphalt company, and a motel.

In a voicemail late Thursday, Annika Kay, director of the in Naselle offered a nuanced yet opposing view.

鈥淎s far as the pronunciation goes, I have heard it both ways,鈥� Kay said. 鈥淢ost people tend to say 鈥榥ay-SELL,鈥� with emphasis on the last half.鈥�

In listening carefully to the audio of Hannah Footh and Annika Kay, the difference between how these Nasellians say 鈥淣aselle鈥� is pretty subtle but definitely not identical.

Regarding the linguistic origins of the name Naselle, most of the old place-name books for Washington point to the Indigenous Chinook people who have inhabited the area for millennia.

Tony Johnson is chairman of the . He was born in the Willapa Bay area and has studied Chinook language most of his life.

鈥淚t does come from a Chinook word: 鈥楴isal,鈥欌�� Johnson confirmed to 成人X站 Newsradio on Thursday, emphasizing the second syllable. The spelling was changed by the Post Office Department in 1920, according to historian Edmond Meany.

The specific meaning of the word 鈥淣isal鈥� has been lost in time, Chairman Johnson added, but it was long considered the place name for the valley where modern-day Naselle is situated.

Chairman Johnson also told 成人X站 Newsradio that the fast-moving air atop Radar Ridge is, of course, nothing new. Chinook people, for time immemorial, would seasonally move into the Nisal area in the winter for shelter from the winds coming off the nearby river.

鈥淚t runs up over Bear River Ridge鈥� 鈥� a highpoint southwest of Naselle 鈥� 鈥渟traight off the Columbia,鈥� Chairman Johnson said of those stiff winter breezes. Then, the wind 鈥渟kips right over that really beautiful protected valley that we’re speaking about, and then hits an even higher piece of land right behind it, which is the site that you’re talking about.鈥�

No matter how it鈥檚 pronounced, a visit to Naselle offers an opportunity to see many of the old Air Force buildings that still stand not far from the highway. They were converted in the mid-1960s to , a facility run by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families until it was shuttered sometime in the past year.

Higher up the mountain, Radar Ridge is no longer home to radomes, but there is and incredible views of Willapa Bay from the top. Accessibility is by foot or by sturdy car and competent driver via an unpaved road.

That doesn鈥檛 sound horriable at all.

Special thanks to Lee Corbin for his invaluable research assistance with this story.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.