1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 4, 8:30 PM PST, 30 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
830 PM PST TUE DEC 4 2001
CORRECTED TO INCREASE PRECIPITATION CHANCES IN THE BLUE MOUNTAIN
FOOTHILLS
PRECIPITATION IS INCREASING THIS EVENING IN AREAL COVERAGE ON THE
RADAR AS THE NEXT FAST MOVING SHORT WAVE WEATHER DISTURBANCE MOVES
INTO THE FORECAST AREA. IT HAS BEGUN TO RAIN AT KDLS AND SNOW IN
THE CENTRAL OREGON AREAS. THERE WAS SOME LIGHT SNOW EARLIER OVER
THE BLUES ASSOCIATED WITH UP SLOPE WINDS...BUT NOW THE WINDS HAVE
MOSTLY TURNED TO THE SOUTHEAST. THIS SOUTHEAST WIND WILL LIKELY
KEEP AREAS FROM PENDLETON-SOUTHWARD MOSTLY DRY...WHILE AREAS FROM
THE HORSE HEAVEN HILLS RANGE NORTHWARD MAY SEE SOME LIGHT SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS OVERNIGHT. THE ATMOSPHERE IS COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW AT
MOST LOCATIONS...WITH THE SNOW LEVEL LOWERING TO ABOUT 500 FT MSL
OVERNIGHT. NEXT SYSTEM AFTER THIS LOOKS TO BE A MORE SIGNIFICANT
PRECIPITATION PRODUCER...AS A VIGOROUS LOW PRESSURE AREA MOVES INTO
THE REGION FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA. THE MAIN SURFACE LOW WILL TAKE
A TRACK WELL NORTH INTO BRITISH COLUMBIA. HOWEVER THERE WILL BE
SUBSTANTIAL MOISTURE AND A STRONG 110KT UPPER JET STREAM TO PROVIDE
SUFFICIENT DYNAMIC LIFT (IN ADDITION TO OROGRAPHIC LIFT OVER THE
MOUNTAINS). HAVE INHERITED A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE NORTHERN
BLUE MOUNTAINS. EVEN THOUGH THE MOISTURE WITH THIS NEXT SYSTEM WILL
BE MUCH BETTER THAN THE MOST RECENT PREVIOUS SYSTEMS...IT IS STILL A
BORDERLINE SITUATION FOR SNOW AMOUNTS TO REACH WARNING CRITERIA.
HOWEVER WILL LET THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT DECIDE WHAT TO DO WITH THE
WINTER STORM WATCH AFTER ALL NEW 00Z DATA ARRIVES. THEN AN UPPER
RIDGE WILL BUILD OVER THE REGION FOR THE END OF THE WEEK INTO THE
WEEKEND FOR A COUPLE DAYS OF DRY CONDITIONS. RSC.
PDT 8464 ALW 8464 PSC 6363 YKM 6163
.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.
.KPDT...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR OREGON ZONES 46 AND 48 AND WASHINGTON
ZONE 30 LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow fell overnight in southern Deschutes County, generally from Bend southward. Bend, at an elevation of 4000 feet, received from 5 to 7 inches of snow according to law enforcement officials. Sunriver (4200 ft) accumulated 12 inches. La Pine, even farther south, reported 14 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 2001
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: 5273523.