Ice Storm, Lower Columbia Basin
- When
- December 4, 12:00 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
- Where
- Lower Columbia Basin forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.220, -119.419 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm in Washington, December 4, 1996
Interstate 82 was closed for six hours, workers went home early and Advent church services were cancelled as freezing rain fell over the Tri Cities. There were about 30 accidents reported, but none with injuries.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS SEW wrote it up.
Interstate 82 was closed for six hours, workers went home early and Advent church services were cancelled as freezing rain fell over the Tri Cities. There were about 30 accidents reported, but none with injuries.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Washington, December 4, 1996
- Winter Storm in Idaho, December 4 to 5, 1996
- Winter Storm in California, December 4 to 5, 1996
- High Wind in Colorado, December 4 to 5, 1996
- Flooding in Illinois, December 4 to 12, 1996
- High Wind in Oregon, December 4, 1996
- High Wind in Montana, December 4, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 4 to 5, 1996
- Strong Wind in California, December 4, 1996
- High Wind in Washington, December 4, 1996
- Strong Wind in California, December 4, 1996
- High Wind in Montana, December 4, 1996
More
Every storm in Washington in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, December 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5577210.