Heavy Snow in Washington, January 11, 1998

Name: Heavy Snow in Washington, January 11, 1998
Start: 1998-01-11T06:00
End: 1998-01-11T14:00
Location: Washington

January 11, 1998 · NWS SEW · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Between 10 and 14 inches of snow fell in Lewis County. 4 to 8 inches fell in Thurston and Pierce Counties.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

Between 10 and 14 inches of snow fell in Lewis County. 4 to 8 inches fell in Thurston and Pierce Counties. No snow fell north of Tacoma. There were hundreds of accidents but no weather related injuries were reported. Schools were closed the next day (monday).

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Thurston T X Se/Sw Mason/C&se Grays Harbor/W Lewis

When: January 11, 6:00 AM PST to 2:00 PM PST
Where: Thurston T X Se/Sw Mason/C&se Grays Harbor/W Lewis forecast zone

Heavy Snow, W Pierce

When: January 11, 6:00 AM PST
Where: W Pierce forecast zone

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

Every storm in Washington in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, January 1998

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: 5628141, 5628142.