Heavy Snow, San Juan
- When
- January 28, 12:00 AM PST to 11:00 PM PST
- Where
- San Juan forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.531, -123.025 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Washington, January 28, 1996
5 inches of snow fell around Puget Sound. Temperatures were below normal with icy roads lasting for 2 or 3 days.
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.
On the 28th up to 3.5 inches of snow fell around Puget Sound. Temperatures were below normal with icy roads lasting for 2 or 3 days. Around Lummi island, sustained winds of 40 mph with gusts to 60 mph altered ferry routes and kept the wind chills below zero. High temperatures did not get above freezing and wind chills approached 30 degrees below zero for the two day period. A propane truck overturned on I-5 closing south bound lanes for several hours. Many side streets stayed treacherous for days, prompting schools and businesses to close.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Washington, January 28, 1996
- Cold in Montana, January 28 to 29, 1996
- Blizzard in Iowa, January 28 to 29, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 28 to 29, 1996
- High Wind in New Mexico, January 28, 1996
- Cold in South Dakota, January 28 to 29, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, January 28 to 30, 1996
- Blizzard in Wyoming, January 28, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, January 28 to 30, 1996
- Cold in Wyoming, January 28, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, January 28 to 29, 1996
- Cold in South Dakota, January 28 to 29, 1996
More
Every storm in Washington in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5544175.