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Oregon Coast Cools Off Quite Suddenly, Tourists Less Cranky

Welcome to (almost) sunny Seaside: sunset on Wednesday was measurably cooler

(Oregon Coast) – In the valley, triple digit heat caused the dress code for the last few days to be shorts, t-shirt and sandals. On the Oregon coast, it was the same for most of Tuesday, until rather abruptly the weather changed and the required dress was long pants and a coat – while sandals were still a good idea.

Tillamook made it to a whopping 100 degrees on Tuesday, with much of the north coast not far behind. Seaside, Cannon Beach and Manzanita were all well into the 90’s or higher, while the central coast enjoyed temps in the 60’s and 70’s.

That is until a sudden and dramatic drop in temperature about 6 p.m. on Tuesday, which saw some parts of the north coast drop 30 or 40 degrees in a space of an hour, absolutely shocking residents and visitors.

Manzanita on a warm night, 2006

Wednesday, the entire Oregon coast saw temperatures normal for the area, maybe even a little chilly at times.

At 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Manzanita was a raging 90-something. But by 6:30, it had dropped to the upper 60’s, with a steady breeze that lowered the temperature even more. It was an unusual and extreme drop that left people a little awed and confused.

One Manzanita resident told BeachConnection.net she was ready to go out and get some sun on the beach, but quickly bundled up when she came outside about 7 p.m.

One Cannon Beach man was talking to a friend by phone in Manzanita about that time. “They had a thermometer out there that read 105 while we were talking,” said John Wickman. “By the end of the hour, their gauge read 65 degrees.”

Wickman also noticed the drop in Cannon Beach. “I was inside for a while and knew how hot it was,” he said. “A little while later I walked outside and felt it was noticeably way cooler.”

Odd sunset in Cannon Beach Tuesday, with mists fogging the photo a bit

The sunset in Cannon Beach had bundles of tourists gathered along the beaches and viewpoints to watch an unusual twilight, where ocean mists were moving inland and a bank of clouds had gathered offshore to create an odd effect. The sunset lasted much longer than usual, as the cloud layer somehow kept the fiery red orb aglow through refraction of some sort, as well as making the sunset appear in some strange shapes.

Natural Air Conditioning: While the valley baked in 100-degree heat, the area just south of Cannon Beach saw interesting wave action caused by sizable winds

In Seaside, some six miles away, temperatures had not dropped quite as much and not as much fog was visible just after sunset. The skies were clearer and the air was still probably about 75, even just after the sun went down.

The high temps made for cranky tourists and short tempers. Lodgings and visitor centers all around the coast reported people upset that almost no one had air conditioning.

“We don’t need it on the coast,” said Brian Hines, owner of San Dune Inn in Manzanita. “These kind of temperatures happen maybe once every two years or once a year.”

Hines saw one couple wander off grumbling about the motel’s lack of A/C, refusing to stay.

“Despite assertions that it would cool down to the mid 60's, not everybody was impressed,” Hines said. “In fact, one nut decided to go back to Portland, even though he had a reservation. His room got snapped up anyway.

“The quick evening cool-down, coupled with a pint or two at the pub, put everyone in a good mood. And today it’s a lot cooler, and maybe one might say a tad chilly. So goes the coastal weather.”

In Seaside, Mike Exinger’s Zinger’s Homemade Ice Cream shop was one of the few places on the entire coast to have air conditioning, yet he noticed impatient customers left and right. Even a short line was too much of a wait for many.

Manzanita in the mists on Wednesday

“They would get in line in back of about one or two people, and after thirty seconds they’d roll their eyes and would leave,” Exinger said. “They were about two minutes away from being served, but they couldn’t even wait that.”

The central Oregon coast was vastly different, however. In Depoe Bay, Trollers Lodge owner Peggy Leoni laughed a bit at BeachConnection.net when asked about the weather conditions in her area.

“Our high in Depoe Bay yesterday was 73,” Leoni said. “You hang out in the wrong places. Eight of our 12 rooms had heat refugees yesterday.”

Beaches of Lincoln City

She added she experienced no cranky customers.

“Our guests were very nice,” said Kevin Winters, manager of D Sands Condominium Motel in Lincoln City. “I think they were relieved to get out of the heat since it was only about 65 degrees yesterday. What is weird is that I live eight miles east of Lincoln City – in Otis -and it was 92 degrees at my house yesterday. Today it is overcast but not too bad, since the wind is calm.”

David Woody, a state park ranger in the Newport area, noticed the wild differences just a few miles away from the sea. “I was off yesterday, but at home in Siletz, it got up to 97 degrees by 11 a.m., and was back down in the 70’s by 4 p.m.,” Woody said. “Weird.”

One of the homes at Turk's Lodgings

The north coast continues to be the hub of activity for heat wave refugees, as most of the state’s population is closer to that section. Liz Turk, who runs Turk’s Lodgings near Cannon Beach, said things have been nutty.

“We are off the hook busy with calls from city folks looking for refuge,” she said. “Though our main house in the trees is booked to mid-October, we still have our cottage and studio available July 17 to the 20th, plus other midweek days if folks can steal away and call in sick.”

Both the north and central coast were cool and a little windy Wednesday, with most areas between Florence and Astoria clocking in around 58 to 68. On the north coast, it was overcast and windy enough that the waves showed a fair amount of white caps action, and things were sizably cooler than the day before.

Again, in Seaside, things remained a little warmer, however. Sunset time saw the town with less cloud coverage than Cannon Beach. “No vacancy” signs were everywhere in Cannon Beach and Seaside, with most places in Manzanita having just one or two rooms left.

On the central coast, things seemed to be comfortably warm, although perhaps a little deserted, according to Ranger Woody. I was on the beach today at Gleneden, it was overcast but warm,” Woody said. “The number of beachgoers was around average for that beach. Actually it seemed kind of slow for a summer day in July.”

The weekend promises good weather for the coast and comfortable temps for the valley. But BeachConnection.net has discovered most lodgings are booked at capacity already for the weekend, and businesses on the coast are bracing for a monster three days.

BeachConnection.net’s weekend lodging report for this coming weekend shows just a handful of openings.

Inn at Cannon Beach. Beautifully wooded natural setting at quiet south end of Cannon Beach. Great during winter storms with a new book by the fireplace – or when the sun is out for family fun and beach strolling. Handsome beach cottage-style architecture. Lush flowering gardens and naturalized courtyard pond. Warm, inviting guest rooms. Continental buffet breakfast. Warm Cookies. Family and Pet Friendly. Welcome gifts. Smoke-free. Complimentary Wireless Connectivity. Wine and book signing events. 800-321-6304 or 503-436-9085. Hemlock At Surfcrest, Cannon Beach, Oregon. www.atcannonbeach.com.

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