2025-12-20T00:00:00-07:00
...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY... Strong northwest winds will spread across the northeast plains after sunrise today, with gusts 45 to 65 mph creating critical fire weather conditions despite somewhat marginal humidity values near 20%. Early Friday, westerly downslope winds will bring strong gusts to the Front Range mountains and foothills, with potential for these to spread into wind-favored portions of the adjacent lower elevations. Peak gusts of 70-90 mph are increasing in likelihood for the windiest locations (considerably lower for areas along and east of I-25). With a warmer and drier air mass in place, humidity values in the teens look to extend into much of the foothills, and certainly across the lower elevations. Such conditions may be a longer duration than usual, with potential for low humidity to extend into the evening hours prior to the arrival of a front. The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a Fire Weather Watch for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from Friday morning through Friday evening. * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zones 215, 216, 241, 243, 245, 246 and 247. * TIMING...From Friday morning through late Friday evening. * WINDS...West 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 80 mph in and near the foothills. West 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph for areas roughly along and east of I-25. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 10 to 15%. * IMPACTS...Conditions will be favorable for rapid fire spread. Avoid outdoor burning and any activity that may produce a spark and start a wildfire.
Summary
Total streamflow across the
Nehalem River
was last observed at
15,660
cfs, and is expected to yield approximately
31,061
acre-ft of water today; about 275%
of normal.
River levels are high.
Average streamflow for this time of year is
5,699 cfs,
with recent peaks last observed
on
2021-01-13 when daily discharge volume was observed at
36,790 cfs.
Maximum discharge along the river is currently at the
Nehalem River Near Foss
reporting a streamflow rate of 14,600 cfs.
This is also the highest stage along the Nehalem River, with a gauge stage of
11.39 ft at this location.
This river is monitored from 2 different streamgauging stations along the Nehalem River, the highest being situated at an altitude of 681 ft, the
Nehalem River Near Vernonia.
River Details
| Last Updated | 2025-12-18 |
| Discharge Volume | 31,061 ACRE-FT |
| Streamflow |
15,660.0 cfs
+4658.0 cfs (+42.34%) |
| Percent of Normal | 274.8% |
| Maximum |
36,790.0 cfs
2021-01-13 |
| Seasonal Avg | 5,699 cfs |
River Streamflow Levels
| Streamgauge | Streamflow | Gauge Stage | 24hr Change (%) | % Normal | Minimum (cfs) | Maximum (cfs) | Air Temp | Elevation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nehalem River Near Vernonia
USGS 14299800 |
1060 cfs | 7.21 ft | 76.08 | |||||
|
Nehalem River Near Foss
USGS 14301000 |
14600 cfs | 11.39 ft | 40.38 |
Seasonal Discharge Comparison
Maximum Streamflow Discharge
Streamflow Elevation Profile
The Nehalem River is a river on the Pacific coast of northwest Oregon in the United States, approximately 119 miles (192 km) long. It drains part of the Northern Oregon Coast Range northwest of Portland, originating on the east side of the mountains and flowing in a loop around the north end of the range near the mouth of the Columbia River. Its watershed of 855 square miles (2,210 km2) includes an important timber-producing region of Oregon that was the site of the Tillamook Burn. In its upper reaches it flows through a long narrow valley of small mountain communities but is unpopulated along most of its lower reaches inland from the coast. The city where the river flows into the Pacific is also used as the name for CPU manufacturing titan Intel's first-generation line of Core processors.It rises in the northeast corner of Tillamook County, in the Tillamook State Forest. It initially flows northeast, across the northwest corner of Washington County and into western Columbia County, past Vernonia where it receives Rock Creek, it hooks to the northwest and west into Clatsop County, then flows southwest back into northern Tillamook County. It enters Nehalem Bay on the Pacific in an estuary at Nehalem, about 70 miles (110 km) west-northwest of Portland. Near its mouth on the Pacific, the river passes under U.S. Route 101.
It receives the Salmonberry River from the east in northern Tillamook County. It also receives the North Fork Nehalem River 25 miles (40 km) from the north about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Nehalem, just before entering Nehalem Bay.
In 2007, a major storm caused the Salmonberry Bridge (located at 45.7499°N 123.6528°W / 45.7499; -123.6528 (Salmonberry Bridge)) to collapse. The bridge was rebuilt and opened to traffic on May 14, 2012.