Floating Above Seaside and Tillamook Head, N. Oregon Coast. And Does It Dictate Weather?

Published 02/20/25 at 8:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Seaside, Oregon) - So much Tillamook Head, so little time. There's oodles of the landmark between Seaside and Cannon Beach, including the fact the giant promontory goes back 14 million years. It was formed by enormous lava flows from what would later be the Idaho border (What is Tillamook Head Geologically? Deep Inside N. Oregon Coast Headland at Seaside / Cannon Beach ). Its brooding presence created numerous intense legends among the first nations people of the area, and Lewis & Clark made some landmark observations from here. Then there's that wild World War II history of the area where it boasted a giant radar. (All photos Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

Now, get ready to see Tillamook Head as you'll likely never see it: from above, in the air.

These days, it's still a brooding Oregon coast presence – and one that seems to control the weather to some degree. It's not unusual to find Seaside sunny and warm, but find Cannon Beach, just minutes to the south, on the other side of the headland, to be cooler and cloudier. Or maybe it's vice versa.

Or maybe you'll catch it “wearing a hat.”

Either way, there's a little bit of truth to that – and some untruths.

Apparently, that phenomenon of finding completely different weather on the other side of the headland may not really be a thing, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). It's probably just coincidence, we here at Oregon Coast Beach Connection have been told. We're not convinced just yet – there's more digging to do.

That kind of action can actually be seen in this one photograph of Seaside and Tillamook Head showing clouds hugging the top and a definite cloud mass on the other side, going as far as the eye can see.

Still more digging to be done.

What is true is that grand Tillamook Head can “wear a hat” - so to speak – for a very good reason. Meteorologists don't have a name for it, except maybe “cape weather” as a kind of default description. It can and does attract its own clouds, clinging to its top like the last layer of ice cream on a cake.

Clouds very clearly just hover at its top and nowhere else at times.

This happens because of a long, complex set of interactions between cold air moving along the beach and then up the cape and the right set of humidity conditions. You can read all that here. See Unique, Rare Oregon Coast Phenomena: When Headlands 'Wear a Hat' And Why It's as if they generate their own weather, and that's not far off

It doesn't happen very often, according to the NWS, so if you see it make sure to snap a pic. However, know the difference between low-hanging clouds that bump into Tillamook Head and the small cloud that hovers over it. You can see that in the shot above.

At night, Tillamook Head still produces some unique cloud interactions. Here, moisture is definitely bouncing up from the cape and causing the cloud layer to bump upwards a bit. It still manages that curious post-dusk glow the clouds here got on this eve.

Then there's those remarkable, rare glimpses of the top of the mountain. You can hike these miles of trails all you want and maybe even see the absolute top – but you'll only ever get this view from the air. You'll need to hop on that helicopter ride in town for this.

You can't help but think of Lewis and Clark's words up here back in 1806, calling it the “grandest view.” Talk about a stunning travel review. And they weren't even at the top.

There's a touch of Goonies action here. The rock that was sometimes mislabeled “Goonies Rock” out there is visible as the aircraft comes up over the top of the cape. It's actually called Keyhole Rock, but when the flick caught fire with audiences, fans sometimes mistook this place for the end scene in the movie (which was actually California).

However, Ecola State Park is slightly visible here – and Goonies did indeed film there.

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