Skip to content
✨ New: PhotoWeather is now available on iOS and Android
Rule Storm Chaser

Seaside - Storm Chaser - Pacific Northwest

Gearhart, Oregon, United States

Dramatic storm conditions — from atmospheric builds to active thunderstorms

No opportunities right now
Here’s what usually blocks matches

No Storm Chaser opportunities in the next 14 days

Get notified
Free alerts · takes 30 seconds
Rule requirements (key thresholds)
Storm Intensity · ≥ 55.0% Cloud Drama Score · ≥ 55.0% CAPE · ≥ 1200.0J/kg Lifted Index · ≤ -2.0°C

Tip: Scroll down to the 72-hour table to see exactly which condition fails hour by hour.

Most common blockers (next 72 hours)
Storm Intensity 100% failing
CAPE 100% failing
Cloud Drama Score 75% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions
Cloud Cover81%
Wind Gusts1.2m/s
Precipitation Chance57%
Air Pressure1000.9hPa
CAPE0
Lifted Index4.5°C
Wind Gusts1.2m/s
Precipitation0.0mm

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in America/Los_Angeles

No opportunities in the next 10 days

See the blocker timeline below to understand which conditions are preventing matches.

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast tracks Pacific storm systems hitting the Northwest coast, identifying when conditions create dramatic photography opportunities while balancing safety considerations. We monitor storm intensity, wave height, wind patterns, and King Tide timing to predict optimal storm photography windows.

The Pacific Northwest receives powerful storm systems throughout fall and winter, creating spectacular wave action along its rugged coastline. These storms combine with the region's dramatic sea stacks, headlands, and coastal forests to produce compelling images. Winter "King Tides"—exceptionally high tides—amplify storm impacts.

What makes the Pacific Northwest special for storm photography:

  • Pacific storm power - Powerful winter systems bring dramatic wave action to exposed coastlines
  • King Tides - December-February extreme high tides create exceptional wave drama
  • Haystack Rock storms - Cannon Beach's iconic sea stack withstanding storm waves
  • Cape Disappointment - One of the most dangerous bar crossings offers dramatic lighthouse storm scenes

Cannon Beach becomes a premier storm photography destination during winter storm events, particularly during King Tides when waves can reach spectacular heights around Haystack Rock and the surrounding sea stacks. The combination of accessible beach, dramatic rock formations, and powerful Pacific swells creates world-class opportunities. Cape Disappointment at the mouth of the Columbia River offers lighthouse drama during storms—waves crash against the rocky headland while the historic lighthouse stands sentinel. Shore Acres State Park near Coos Bay features a protected viewing platform where photographers can safely capture massive storm waves exploding against the cliff face. The Olympic coast provides wilderness storm photography with sea stacks and rugged shoreline. Safety is essential—our forecast helps identify conditions that are dramatic but manageable, tracking when peak storm intensity has passed but seas remain photogenic. Never turn your back on the ocean, watch for sneaker waves, and maintain safe distances from surf.

Create your own Storm Chaser alerts

Get notified when these conditions match at your own locations.

Get this template

72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour
0matching hours in the next 95 hours
OR logic: one branch per group is enough
Meets requirement
Misses requirement
Time
America/Los_Angeles
Storm Intensity
≥ 55.0%
Cloud Drama Score
≥ 55.0%
CAPE
OR1·B1
≥ 1200.0J/kg
Lifted Index
OR1·B2
≤ -2.0°C
Visibility
≥ 2500.0m
Wind Gusts
≤ 22.0m/s
Fri, Apr 10
12:000%87%0J/kg1.6°C24134m2.4m/s
13:000%73%0J/kg1.5°C24135m2.9m/s
14:008.4%54%0J/kg1.6°C24135m2.4m/s
15:000%31%0J/kg1.3°C24135m2.6m/s
16:000%27%0J/kg1.1°C24134m2.5m/s
17:008.4%30%0J/kg1.1°C24134m2.3m/s
18:000%59%0J/kg1°C24134m2.2m/s
19:000%30%0J/kg1.2°C24134m1.9m/s
20:009.1%47%0J/kg1.5°C24134m1m/s
21:000%20%0J/kg2°C24135m1.1m/s
22:000%1.9%0J/kg2.8°C24134m3.2m/s
23:008.4%0%0J/kg3°C24134m3m/s
Sat, Apr 11
24:000%0%0J/kg5.4°C24135m4.6m/s
01:000%0%0J/kg4.7°C24134m5m/s
02:000%0%0J/kg5.7°C24134m5.9m/s
03:000%0%0J/kg5.5°C24135m6.3m/s
04:000%0%0J/kg5.4°C24135m5.6m/s
05:000%0%0J/kg5.1°C24135m5.6m/s
06:000%53%2J/kg6.1°C15007m4.8m/s
07:0012%60%1J/kg5.1°C16479m3.6m/s
08:0011%57%1J/kg4.4°C23386m3.1m/s
09:009.8%56%3J/kg4.1°C23964m1.7m/s
10:009.8%66%4J/kg4.1°C24135m1.3m/s
11:0011%57%1J/kg4.5°C24135m1.1m/s
12:000%60%0J/kg4.5°C24135m1.2m/s
13:000%72%0J/kg4.7°C24134m1.6m/s
14:000%70%0J/kg4.3°C24134m1.9m/s
15:000%42%2J/kg4.1°C24134m2.4m/s
16:000%41%1J/kg3.8°C24135m1.6m/s
17:000%33%0J/kg3.5°C24134m1.4m/s
18:000%57%0J/kg3.8°C24135m1.7m/s
19:000%49%0J/kg4.3°C24135m2.6m/s
20:000%55%0J/kg4.4°C24135m2.7m/s
21:000%20%0J/kg4.2°C24134m3.1m/s
22:000%8.4%0J/kg4.4°C24135m3.3m/s
23:000%9.3%0J/kg4.7°C24134m3.4m/s
Sun, Apr 12
24:000%15%0J/kg4.7°C24135m4.6m/s
01:000%14%0J/kg5.4°C24135m4.3m/s
02:000%12%0J/kg5.4°C24134m3.7m/s
03:000%14%0J/kg5.1°C24135m6m/s
04:000%15%0J/kg4.6°C24135m5.9m/s
05:000%12%0J/kg4.8°C24135m3.8m/s
06:000%56%0J/kg4.1°C24135m5.8m/s
07:000%41%0J/kg4°C24135m4.9m/s
08:000%100%0J/kg4.4°C24135m5.1m/s
09:000%85%0J/kg4.6°C24135m5.2m/s
10:000%58%0J/kg4.4°C24134m5.4m/s
11:000%44%0J/kg4.1°C24134m4.9m/s
12:000%44%0J/kg4.3°C24134m4.5m/s
13:000%62%0J/kg4.6°C24135m4.3m/s
14:000%29%0J/kg5°C24135m3.8m/s
15:000%27%0J/kg4.9°C24135m4.4m/s
16:000%31%0J/kg5.3°C24135m4.8m/s
17:000%30%0J/kg5.6°C24135m4.8m/s
18:000%31%0J/kg6.1°C24135m4.8m/s
19:000%31%0J/kg6.7°C24135m4.2m/s
20:000%26%0J/kg7°C24135m4.2m/s
21:000%21%0J/kg6.7°C24134m4.2m/s
22:000%0.5%0J/kg7°C23163m5.1m/s
23:000%1.6%0J/kg7°C24135m5.5m/s
Mon, Apr 13
24:000%4.1%1J/kg7.5°C24135m5.8m/s
01:000%1.1%2J/kg7.8°C24134m5.4m/s
02:000%0.1%4J/kg8.1°C24135m5.4m/s
03:000%0%18J/kg8°C23125m5.6m/s
04:000%0.1%24J/kg7.5°C20474m5.5m/s
05:000%0.3%27J/kg7.4°C19724m5.6m/s
06:000%21%27J/kg7.9°C21030m5.4m/s
07:000%23%27J/kg9°C23989m5.8m/s
08:000%22%24J/kg10°C24134m6.3m/s
09:000%50%20J/kg11°C24134m6.4m/s
10:000%46%24J/kg12°C24135m6.2m/s
11:000%43%18J/kg12°C24135m5.4m/s
12:000%29%21J/kg13°C24134m5.5m/s
13:000%26%18J/kg13°C24135m5.5m/s
14:000%62%21J/kg13°C24134m5.5m/s
15:000%40%17J/kg13°C24135m5.7m/s
16:000%51%15J/kg14°C24135m5.2m/s
17:000%51%16J/kg13°C24134m5.3m/s
18:000%55%14J/kg14°C24134m4.9m/s
19:000%59%12J/kg14°C24135m4.6m/s
20:000%38%10J/kg14°C24135m4.2m/s
21:000%32%11J/kg14°C24135m5.1m/s
22:000%0%11J/kg13°C24135m6m/s
23:000%0%12J/kg13°C24135m7m/s
Tue, Apr 14
24:000%0%15J/kg13°C24135m7.6m/s
01:000%0%19J/kg13°C24135m8.2m/s
02:000%0%22J/kg13°C24135m8.8m/s
03:000%0%27J/kg12°C23913m9.8m/s
04:000%0%32J/kg12°C23691m11m/s
05:0017%0%37J/kg12°C23469m12m/s
06:0013%69%37J/kg12°C18207m13m/s
07:0015%69%36J/kg12°C12945m13m/s
08:0033%64%36J/kg12°C7683m14m/s
09:0020%64%42J/kg12°C6905m15m/s
10:0025%56%47J/kg11°C6127m15m/s
How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity). For OR groups, only one branch is required, so some OR-branch predicates can be ✕ even in a matching hour.

What does Cloud Drama Score mean?

Inputs that drive the score

This derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.

Time
America/Los_Angeles
Air Pressure
hPa
CAPE
J/kg
High Clouds
%
Lifted Index
°C
Low Clouds
%
Mid-Level Clouds
%
Precipitation Chance
%
Rainfall
mm
Relative Humidity
%
Showers
mm
Simulated Reflectivity
dBZ
Solar Elevation
°
Total Cloud Coverage
%
Total Precipitation
mm
Wind Shear 0-3 km
m/s
Wind Shear 0-6 km
m/s
Wind Speed
m/s
Sat, Apr 11 Sunrise 06:36 Sunset 19:56
12:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 6% 4.5°C 81% 61% 57% 0mm 85% 0.01mm -17dBZ 49° 81% 0mm - - 1.9m/s
13:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 4% 4.7°C 21% 43% 33% 0mm 83% 0.01mm -18dBZ 52° 43% 0mm - - 3.1m/s
14:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 2% 4.3°C 30% 22% 8% 0mm 82% 0.03mm -18dBZ 51° 38% 0.06mm 3.2m/s 4.3m/s 3.3m/s
15:00
1001hPa 2J/kg 3% 4.1°C 26% 5% 6% 0mm 84% 0.02mm -19dBZ 46° 26% 0.06mm - - 3m/s
16:00
1001hPa 1J/kg 86% 3.8°C 34% 4% 3% 0mm 82% 0mm -19dBZ 39° 86% 0.06mm - - 2m/s
17:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 100% 3.5°C 15% 3% 0% 0mm 80% 0.01mm -20dBZ 30° 100% 0.06mm 1.7m/s 5.2m/s 1.7m/s
18:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 100% 3.8°C 14% 10% 0% 0mm 80% 0mm -20dBZ 19° 100% 0mm - - 2.1m/s
19:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 100% 4.3°C 9% 97% 0% 0mm 83% 0mm -20dBZ 9.2° 100% 0mm - - 2.5m/s
20:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 100% 4.4°C 12% 12% 0% 0mm 87% 0mm -20dBZ -0.94° 100% 0mm 0.49m/s 3.2m/s 2.5m/s
21:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 90% 4.2°C 4% 5% 0% 0mm 89% 0mm -20dBZ -11° 90% 0mm - - 2.6m/s
22:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 34% 4.4°C 4% 4% 0% 0mm 89% 0mm -20dBZ -20° 34% 0mm - - 2.5m/s
23:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 56% 4.7°C 4% 90% 0% 0mm 89% 0mm -20dBZ -27° 91% 0mm 1.5m/s 7.5m/s 2.6m/s
Sun, Apr 12 Sunrise 06:34 Sunset 19:57
24:00
999hPa 0J/kg 15% 4.7°C 8% 84% 0% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -33° 84% 0mm - - 3.7m/s
01:00
999hPa 0J/kg 95% 5.4°C 10% 56% 0% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -35° 95% 0mm - - 3.3m/s
02:00
999hPa 0J/kg 90% 5.4°C 9% 56% 0% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -34° 90% 0mm 2.8m/s 8.1m/s 2.8m/s
03:00
998hPa 0J/kg 62% 5.1°C 9% 40% 7% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -31° 63% 0mm - - 4.6m/s
04:00
998hPa 0J/kg 94% 4.6°C 8% 6% 15% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -24° 94% 0mm - - 4.4m/s
05:00
998hPa 0J/kg 100% 4.8°C 6% 77% 22% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -16° 100% 0mm 6.3m/s 6.2m/s 2.7m/s
06:00
998hPa 0J/kg 96% 4.1°C 4% 100% 22% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ -6.5° 100% 0mm - - 4.1m/s
07:00
999hPa 0J/kg 4% 4°C 6% 97% 22% 0mm 90% 0mm -20dBZ 3.7° 97% 0mm - - 3.4m/s
08:00
999hPa 0J/kg 58% 4.4°C 45% 66% 22% 0mm 90% 0.01mm -20dBZ 14° 72% 0mm 4.6m/s 8m/s 3.5m/s
09:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 47% 4.6°C 86% 33% 24% 0.01mm 89% 0.02mm -12dBZ 24° 87% 0mm - - 3.9m/s
10:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 99% 4.4°C 100% 75% 26% 0.02mm 87% 0.02mm -3.6dBZ 34° 100% 0.06mm - - 4.6m/s
11:00
1000hPa 0J/kg 82% 4.1°C 100% 75% 28% 0.02mm 86% 0.01mm 4.7dBZ 43° 100% 0.06mm 3.4m/s 8.8m/s 4.4m/s
12:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 64% 4.3°C 100% 38% 38% 0.01mm 84% 0.01mm -1.8dBZ 49° 100% 0.06mm - - 4m/s
13:00
1001hPa 0J/kg 16% 4.6°C 100% 38% 47% 0.01mm 83% 0.01mm -8.2dBZ 53° 100% 0.06mm - - 3.9m/s
14:00
1002hPa 0J/kg 0% 5°C 100% 5% 56% 0.02mm 81% 0.01mm -15dBZ 52° 100% 0.06mm 0.75m/s 3.2m/s 3.5m/s
15:00
1002hPa 0J/kg 2% 4.9°C 100% 5% 69% 0.01mm 80% 0.01mm -6.3dBZ 47° 100% 0.06mm - - 4m/s
16:00
1002hPa 0J/kg 3% 5.3°C 100% 5% 82% 0.02mm 81% 0.02mm 2.1dBZ 39° 100% 0.13mm - - 4.5m/s
17:00
1003hPa 0J/kg 1% 5.6°C 100% 3% 95% 0.02mm 83% 0.02mm 11dBZ 30° 100% 0.19mm 2.8m/s 4.3m/s 4.5m/s
18:00
1003hPa 0J/kg 1% 6.1°C 100% 0% 95% 0.02mm 83% 0.03mm 12dBZ 20° 100% 0.06mm - - 4.2m/s
19:00
1004hPa 0J/kg 0% 6.7°C 100% 0% 95% 0.07mm 83% 0.03mm 13dBZ 9.4° 100% 0.13mm - - 3.4m/s
20:00
1005hPa 0J/kg 0% 7°C 100% 0% 95% 0.08mm 84% 0.02mm 14dBZ -0.66° 100% 0.25mm 3.5m/s 3.4m/s 3m/s
21:00
1006hPa 0J/kg 0% 6.7°C 100% 4% 96% 0.07mm 85% 0.06mm 14dBZ -11° 100% 0.38mm - - 3m/s
22:00
1006hPa 0J/kg 0% 7°C 100% 5% 97% 0.07mm 86% 0.1mm 14dBZ -20° 100% 0.5mm - - 3.9m/s
23:00
1006hPa 0J/kg 0% 7°C 100% 5% 99% 0.03mm 85% 0.07mm 15dBZ -27° 100% 0.63mm 2.5m/s 2.5m/s 4.7m/s
Mon, Apr 13 Sunrise 06:32 Sunset 19:58
24:00
1007hPa 1J/kg 0% 7.5°C 100% 5% 93% 0.06mm 84% 0.05mm 14dBZ -32° 100% 0.06mm - - 4.8m/s
01:00
1007hPa 2J/kg 0% 7.8°C 100% 5% 87% 0.04mm 83% 0.06mm 14dBZ -35° 100% 0.19mm - - 4.3m/s
02:00
1008hPa 4J/kg 0% 8.1°C 100% 85% 82% 0.06mm 82% 0.09mm 14dBZ -34° 100% 0.31mm 2.1m/s 2.6m/s 4.3m/s
03:00
1008hPa 18J/kg 0% 8°C 100% 19% 87% 0.06mm 83% 0.12mm 14dBZ -30° 100% 0.44mm - - 4.6m/s
04:00
1009hPa 24J/kg 0% 7.5°C 100% 0% 92% 0.06mm 83% 0.17mm 14dBZ -24° 100% 0.69mm - - 4.5m/s
05:00
1009hPa 27J/kg 0% 7.4°C 100% 0% 98% 0.06mm 84% 0.19mm 14dBZ -16° 100% 0.88mm 4.4m/s 1.9m/s 4.7m/s
06:00
1010hPa 27J/kg 0% 7.9°C 100% 0% 92% 0.02mm 83% 0.2mm 14dBZ -6.2° 100% 0.25mm - - 4.6m/s
07:00
1010hPa 27J/kg 0% 9°C 100% 0% 87% 0.02mm 81% 0.14mm 13dBZ 100% 0.44mm - - 5m/s
08:00
1011hPa 24J/kg 0% 10°C 100% 0% 82% 0mm 78% 0.12mm 12dBZ 14° 100% 0.56mm 3.5m/s 7.7m/s 5.6m/s
09:00
1012hPa 20J/kg 0% 11°C 52% 0% 86% 0mm 76% 0.08mm 11dBZ 25° 52% 0.69mm - - 5.7m/s
10:00
1013hPa 24J/kg 3% 12°C 66% 0% 90% 0mm 74% 0.09mm 8.8dBZ 34° 66% 0.75mm - - 5.8m/s
11:00
1013hPa 18J/kg 5% 12°C 70% 0% 95% 0mm 71% 0.07mm 6.9dBZ 43° 70% 0.81mm 3.4m/s 14m/s 5.2m/s
12:00
1013hPa 21J/kg 5% 13°C 88% 0% 96% 0mm 70% 0.09mm 6.3dBZ 50° 88% 0.06mm - - 5.2m/s
13:00
1014hPa 18J/kg 5% 13°C 88% 0% 97% 0mm 71% 0.08mm 5.6dBZ 53° 88% 0.19mm - - 4.8m/s
14:00
1014hPa 21J/kg 27% 13°C 77% 5% 98% 0mm 69% 0.07mm 4.9dBZ 52° 77% 0.25mm 3.9m/s 11m/s 5.1m/s
15:00
1014hPa 17J/kg 19% 13°C 100% 5% 98% 0mm 67% 0.04mm 6.2dBZ 47° 100% 0.31mm - - 4.9m/s
16:00
1014hPa 15J/kg 100% 14°C 100% 11% 99% 0mm 66% 0.04mm 7.4dBZ 39° 100% 0.31mm - - 4.6m/s
17:00
1014hPa 16J/kg 100% 13°C 100% 21% 99% 0mm 68% 0.08mm 8.7dBZ 30° 100% 0.38mm 4.8m/s 6.2m/s 4.8m/s
18:00
1014hPa 14J/kg 90% 14°C 99% 16% 93% 0.003mm 70% 0.06mm 9.8dBZ 20° 99% 0.29mm - - 4.2m/s
19:00
1014hPa 12J/kg 81% 14°C 98% 10% 88% 0.007mm 71% 0.04mm 11dBZ 9.6° 98% 0.21mm - - 3.7m/s
20:00
1015hPa 10J/kg 72% 14°C 97% 5% 82% 0.01mm 72% 0.02mm 12dBZ -0.34° 97% 0.13mm 4.8m/s 11m/s 3.2m/s
21:00
1014hPa 11J/kg 68% 14°C 98% 5% 86% 0.01mm 72% 0.02mm 9.3dBZ -11° 98% 0.17mm - - 4m/s
22:00
1014hPa 11J/kg 64% 13°C 99% 6% 90% 0.02mm 73% 0.03mm 6.6dBZ -19° 99% 0.21mm - - 4.7m/s
23:00
1014hPa 12J/kg 61% 13°C 100% 6% 95% 0.02mm 74% 0.03mm 4dBZ -27° 100% 0.25mm 7.3m/s 9.1m/s 5.5m/s
Tue, Apr 14 Sunrise 06:31 Sunset 20:00
24:00
1014hPa 15J/kg 71% 13°C 99% 25% 95% 0.01mm 74% 0.05mm 5.2dBZ -32° 99% 0.23mm - - 5.8m/s
01:00
1013hPa 19J/kg 81% 13°C 99% 44% 95% 0.007mm 75% 0.08mm 6.3dBZ -34° 99% 0.21mm - - 6.2m/s
02:00
1013hPa 22J/kg 90% 13°C 98% 63% 95% 0mm 76% 0.1mm 7.4dBZ -34° 98% 0.19mm 9.7m/s 15m/s 6.5m/s
03:00
1013hPa 27J/kg 94% 12°C 99% 75% 94% 0.01mm 77% 0.14mm 7.7dBZ -30° 99% 0.35mm - - 7.4m/s
04:00
1013hPa 32J/kg 97% 12°C 99% 88% 94% 0.02mm 78% 0.19mm 7.9dBZ -23° 99% 0.52mm - - 8.2m/s
05:00
1012hPa 37J/kg 100% 12°C 100% 100% 93% 0.03mm 78% 0.23mm 8.2dBZ -15° 100% 0.69mm 12m/s 18m/s 9.1m/s
06:00
1012hPa 37J/kg 100% 12°C 100% 100% 93% 0.32mm 82% 0.32mm 9.4dBZ -5.9° 100% 1.1mm - - 10m/s
07:00
1011hPa 36J/kg 100% 12°C 100% 100% 92% 0.61mm 85% 0.4mm 11dBZ 4.3° 100% 1.6mm - - 11m/s
08:00
1011hPa 36J/kg 100% 12°C 100% 100% 91% 0.9mm 88% 0.49mm 12dBZ 15° 100% 2mm 12m/s 20m/s 12m/s
09:00
1010hPa 42J/kg 100% 12°C 100% 100% 94% 1.1mm 89% 0.44mm 14dBZ 25° 100% 3.8mm - - 12m/s
10:00
1010hPa 47J/kg 100% 11°C 100% 100% 97% 1.3mm 89% 0.38mm 15dBZ 35° 100% 5.6mm - - 12m/s
11:00
1009hPa 53J/kg 100% 11°C 100% 100% 99% 1.5mm 90% 0.33mm 17dBZ 43° 100% 7.4mm 11m/s 19m/s 12m/s
How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

Get Notified of Opportunities

Create your own custom alerts for this location and more.

Create Free Account