Blizzard in Washington, November 28 to 29, 2001

Name: Blizzard in Washington, November 28 to 29, 2001
Start: 2001-11-28T10:00
End: 2001-11-29T10:00
Location: Washington

November 28 to 29, 2001 · NWS OTX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A moisture-laden winter storm struck the northeast Blue Mountains on November 28 with major snowfall totals and strong wind. 8".

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 OTX wrote it up.

A moisture-laden winter storm struck the northeast Blue Mountains on November 28 with major snowfall totals and strong wind. The following is a tally of 24-hour snowfall totals: Field Springs State Park...9", Anatone...6", and the nearby Bluewood Ski Area...8". On top of this, the Alder Ridge RAWS site measured a peak wind gust to 70 mph with sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph around 400 PM on the 28th, creating whiteout and blizzard conditions.

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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 28, 9:10 AM PST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 28, 9:10 AM PST, 50 minutes before

EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
910 AM PST WED NOV 28 2001

STILL VERY CONTENT WITH HOW THE CURRENT FORECAST IS PANNING OUT AND
EXPECT NO ZONE UPDATES THIS MORNING.

SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A FULLY MATURE 970-973 MB CYCLONE OFF THE WA
COAST MOVING EAST. STRONG EAST-SOUTHEAST PRESSURE GRADIENTS CONTINUE
TO ADVECT COLD DRY LOW-LEVEL AIR UNDER THE MID-LEVEL DECK WHICH IS
PRODUCING ALL THE SNOW. THE DRY AIR WILL CONTINUE THE WET BULB
COOLING AND KEEP THINGS ALL SNOW FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. INTERNET WEB
CAMS FROM SPOKANE TO PULLMAN TO WENATCHEE TO STEVENS PASS SHOW A
NASTY SITUATION WITH INCREASINGLY HEAVY SNOW. THE EASTERLY GRADIENTS
WILL KEEP COLD AIR DAMMED UP ALONG THE CASCADE EAST SLOPES ALL
DAY...SO EXPECT NO TURNOVER TO RAIN THERE. FURTHER EAST...WARM
ADVECTION WILL START TO TAKE ITS TOLL AS SNOW CHANGES TO RAIN OVER
SOUTHERN ADAMS COUNTY AND ON THE PALOUSE BELOW 2000 FEET THIS
AFTERNOON. HIGHEST SNOWFALL REPORT SO FAR WAS FROM A SPOTTER BETWEEN
DRYDEN AND BLEWETT PASS (SRN CHELAN CO.) WHO HAD 11 AS OF 9 AM.

WILL SEND OUT AN UPDATED WSW SOON AS REQUIRED DURING WARNING
SITUATIONS...BUT THERE WILL BE NO SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES.      HANER

...THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRODUCT CONCERNING WARNINGS AND FORECASTS
IS VALID ONLY AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE. THE LATEST WARNING AND
FORECAST INFORMATION WILL BE FOUND IN THE APPROPRIATE PRODUCTS...

GEG 035/033/038/028/035 ++517
COE 033/032/038/027/035 ++527
PUW 036/034/038/029/036 ++516
LWS 041/037/045/034/042 +5413
CQV 032/030/037/027/035 ++857
SPT 030/030/035/027/033 ++956
WWP 031/031/035/025/033 ++856
EAT 032/031/040/030/037 +6316
MWH 038/031/040/031/038 +6416

.OTX...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ID ZONES 1 2 3 4 AND WA ZONES 33 34 35 36
       37 38 41 42 43 44.
    ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ID ZONES 26 27 AND WA ZONES 31 32.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, S Garfield/Sw Asotin

When: November 28, 10:00 AM PST to November 29, 10:00 AM PST
Where: S Garfield/Sw Asotin forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.312, -117.374 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, November 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: 5272692.