Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 3 to 4, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 3 to 4, 2001
Start: 2001-12-03T12:00
End: 2001-12-04T15:00
Location: Oregon

December 3 to 4, 2001 · NWS PQR · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Another powerful Pacific storm dumped very heavy snow in the Cascades again. Thirty five inches of snow fell at Santiam Pass, 38 inches at Mt.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 PQR wrote it up.

Another powerful Pacific storm dumped very heavy snow in the Cascades again. Thirty five inches of snow fell at Santiam Pass, 38 inches at Mt. Hood Meadows, 34 inches at Timberline, 27 inches at Government Camp and Bennett Pass, 22 inches at Mt. Bachelor and 21 inches at Tombstone. In the Cascade Foothills, 3 to 5 inches were reported. In the Coastal Mountains. Both Sunset and Wilson Summits had 4 to 5 inches. In the Columbia River Gorge 3 to 4 inches of new snow was reported at Hood River, and both Bonneville Dam and Cascade Locks reported one inch accumulations.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 3, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 3, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 AM PST MON DEC 3 2001

.SYNOPSIS...THE FORECAST AREA WILL BE BETWEEN WEATHER SYSTEMS TODAY
WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS DUE TO MOIST WEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. A
PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INLAND TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. THIS WILL BE
COMING FROM THE NORTHWEST AND WILL BE COOL WITH LOW SNOW LEVELS. A
SERIES OF SYSTEMS OR IMPULSES OFF THE PACIFIC WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
THE WEEKEND...THOUGH HIGHER PRESSURE WILL PUSH THEM A LITTLE NORTH
FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL BY TUESDAY MORNING TO AS
LOW AS 1000 FEET AND THEN SLOWLY RISE.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...STILL SOME SHOWERS AROUND BUT SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS
DECREASING OPEN CELL CUMULUS UPSTREAM. SHOWERS ENDING OR DECREASING
BY OR IN THE AFTERNOON LOOK GOOD. CLOUD SHIELD FROM NEXT SYSTEM
NEARING 130 WEST. CURRENT FORECASTS LOOK GOOD. WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER
A SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE CASCADES AND HIGHER COAST RANGE FOR TUESDAY.

.LONG TERM...THE MRF AND ECMWF ARE SIMILAR AND SUPPORT CURRENT
EXTENDED FORECASTS. NO CHANGE. STARMER

AST 3+999 PDX 3+999 SLE 39999 EUG 39999

.PQR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY COASTAL WATERS.

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Cascade Foothills in Lane County

When: December 3, 12:00 PM PST to December 4, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Cascade Foothills in Lane County forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Coast Range of Nw Oregon

When: December 3, 12:00 PM PST to December 4, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Coast Range of Nw Oregon forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, North Oregon Cascades Foothills

When: December 3, 12:00 PM PST to December 4, 3:00 PM PST
Where: North Oregon Cascades Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Northern Oregon Cascades

When: December 3, 12:00 PM PST to December 4, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Western Columbia River Gorge

When: December 3, 12:00 PM PST to December 4, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Western Columbia River Gorge forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

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 Oregon in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, December 2001

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: 5275449, 5275450, 5275451, 5275452, 5275453.