Heavy Snow, Blue Mountains
- When
- January 3, 12:00 PM PST to January 4, 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- Blue Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 3 to 4, 2000
Widespread heavy snow affected the Blue Mountains, the John Day Highlands, and the Grande Ronde Valley in Eastern Oregon. Meacham, at 4000 ft.
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
- 3
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 PDT wrote it up.
Widespread heavy snow affected the Blue Mountains, the John Day Highlands, and the Grande Ronde Valley in Eastern Oregon. Meacham, at 4000 ft. in the Blue Mountains, received 10 inches of snow in 24 hours. Another rural location 8 miles northwest of Seneca in the John Day Highlands had 8 inches. Accumulations of up to 6 inches in the Grande Ronde valley made this storm the heaviest of the season. Both North Powder and Elgin, located at 2400 ft. in the valley, received 6 inches. La Grande had varying amounts of between 2 and 4 inches. This storm caused delays on local streets and closed Interstate - 84 through Ladd Canyon for 4 hours early in the morning of the 4th. Strong winds created 6 foot drifts near Imbler and closed schools in both Imbler and North Powder.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Grand Ronde Valley
- When
- January 3, 12:00 PM PST to January 4, 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- Grand Ronde Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 45.310, -118.009 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Ochoco-John Day Highlands
- When
- January 3, 12:00 PM PST to January 4, 12:00 PM PST
- Where
- Ochoco-John Day Highlands forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
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
- Tornado in Kentucky, January 3, 2000
- Tornadoes in Kentucky, January 3, 2000
- Tornadoes in Mississippi, January 3, 2000
- Tornado in Mississippi, January 3, 2000
- Flash Flooding in Kentucky, January 3, 2000
- Flash Flooding in Kentucky, January 3, 2000
- Damaging Wind in Missouri, January 3, 2000
- Tornado and Flash Flooding in Indiana, January 3, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Kentucky, January 3, 2000
- Flash Flooding in Ohio, January 3 to 4, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Wind in Indiana, January 3 to 4, 2000
- Damaging Wind in Illinois, January 3, 2000
More
Every storm in Oregon in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 2000
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: 5131848, 5131849, 5131850.