Winter Storm in Oregon, December 30 to 31, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in Oregon, December 30 to 31, 2001
Start: 2001-12-30T12:00
End: 2001-12-31T21:00
Location: Oregon

December 30 to 31, 2001 · NWS PQR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

In the Cascades, Freezing Rain was reported at Blue Box Pass, Government Camp, and Warm Springs. Willamette Pass received 2 inches of snow.

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 PQR wrote it up.

In the Cascades, Freezing Rain was reported at Blue Box Pass, Government Camp, and Warm Springs. Willamette Pass received 2 inches of snow. In the Columbia River Gorge, Hood River reportedly received sleet, freezing rain, and one inch of snow.

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 30, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

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

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 AM PST SUN DEC 30 2001

.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER RIDGE WILL BE OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TODAY
AND THEN GET PUSHED EASTWARD AS ANOTHER SPLITTING WEATHER SYSTEM
MOVES INTO THE AREA. THE RIDGE WILL REBOUND MONDAY BUT THEN SHIFT TO
THE E ON TUESDAY. A STRONGER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE REGION
TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...ANOTHER WEAK FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE SOUTHWEST THIS
MORNING. MODELS AND EXTRAPOLATION SHOW RAIN MOVING INTO THE FORECAST
AREA TONIGHT AND EXITING BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE GORGE SEEMS TO BE
THE PROBLEM AREA. DEWPOINTS NEAR FREEZING THIS MORNING BUT DEEPER
COLD AIR TO THE EAST SHOULD BE FUNNELED THROUGH THE GORGE TONIGHT.
CURRENT FORECAST HANDLE THE SITUATION WELL. WILL LIKELY NEED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY WITH THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE. THE MESO-ETA KEEPS THE
THREAT OF FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW IN THE GORGE.

.LONG TERM...CURRENT EXTENDED FORECASTS LOOK GOOD. NO CHANGE. STARMER

AST 18848 PDX 18847 SLE 18848 EUG 29858

.PQR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY COASTAL WATERS.

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Northern Oregon Cascades

When: December 30, 12:00 PM PST to December 31, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Winter Storm, Western Columbia River Gorge

When: December 30, 12:00 PM PST to December 31, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Western Columbia River Gorge forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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: 5275471, 5275472.