A cold arctic air mass quickly invaded eastern Washington on February 15. ) A low pressure center then formed off the Washington coast that afternoon, drawing warm moist air over the dome of cold air starting that evening.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
A cold arctic air mass quickly invaded eastern Washington on February 15. (In fact, the Oroville RAWS site measured a wind gust to 57 mph at 5 am on February 15 as the cold air funnelled down the Okanogan Valley.) A low pressure center then formed off the Washington coast that afternoon, drawing warm moist air over the dome of cold air starting that evening. Heavy snow was the result for almost all of eastern Washington, even for parts of the Columbia Basin which normally see lighter snowfall amounts. Only the northern tier of counties escaped heavier snowfall, where drier air kept snowfall totals below the heavy category. Specific snowfall totals include: Holden Village...6", Lake Wenatchee...6", Methow...6", Wenatchee area...4-6", Douglas County...2-6", Spokane...3-5", southern Okanogan valley...4", Smyrna...4", upper Grant County...4", Lind...3", and Davenport...3".
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 15, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5230017, 5230018, 5230019, 5230020, 5230021, 5230022, 5230023.