Winter Storm in Washington, December 14 to 15, 2000

One of the strongest winter storms to move across eastern Washington in two years took place from the afternoon of December 14 through the morning of December 15 as a strengthening cyclone moved across the Northwest. The storm started out with a band of heavy snow along the Cascade East Slopes on the afternoon which steadily moved into Idaho by late evening. Due in part to very cold air in place and high snowfall ratios, snowfall rates reached 1.5" per hour. There were even a few spotter reports of lightning and thunder with this feature. Snowfall amounts of 4 to 7 inches were common at elevations below 3000 feet, while elevations above 3000 feet received around 10 to 16 inches of snow. Strong winds followed the snowfall in Spokane and Whitman Counties. This led to whiteout conditions in open country and whipped the powdery snow into drifts of 3 to 5 feet. (See the separate High Wind entry for details on that aspect of this winter storm.) The combination of snow drifts and wind led to the temporary closure of US Hwy 195 from the Pullman bypass to the Idaho border. Nearly all school districts in far eastern Washington either cancelled classes or started classes late on December 15. Specific 24-hour snowfall amounts include: Sherman Pass...16", Blewett Pass...14", Lake Wenatchee...13.5", 49 North Ski Area...10", Mount Spokane Ski Area...8", Colton...8", Entiat...6.5", Deer Park...5.8", Otis Orchards...5.5", Chesaw...5", Newport...5", NWS Spokane...4.9", Wenatchee...4.9", Waterville...4.8", Ione_3W...4.3", Boundary Dam...4", Northport...4", Rosalia...4", Davenport...4", Cheney...4", Republic...3.9", and Spokane Intl Airport...3.5".