Name: Blizzard in Washington, November 28, 2001
Start: 2001-11-28T09:00
End: 2001-11-28T14:00
Location: Washington

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 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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 28, 8:43 AM PST, 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 28, 8:43 AM PST, 17 minutes before

NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
843 AM PST WED NOV 28 2001...CORRECTED

CORRECTED WIND SPEEDS IN LINE 7

VIGOROUS STORM SYSTEM CONTINUES TO MOVE OVER THE FORECAST AREA. VERY
STRONG WINDS HAVE BEEN ONGOING THROUGH THE CANYONS AT THE SOUTH OF
END OF THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY. LOCALLY HIGHER WINDS HAVE ALSO BEEN
OCCURRING OVER HIGH PORTIONS OF THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS AND
WESTERN WALLOWA COUNTY. WILL THEREFORE CONTINUE WARNING OVER THE
GRANDE RONDE VALLEY ZONE...WHILE UPPING THE WINDS IN THE NORTHEAST
OREGON MOUNTAINS. MODELS NOW INDICATING 45-50 KT WINDS AT 850 MB
ACROSS THE COLUMBIA BASIN THIS AFTERNOON...AHEAD AND BEING THE COLD
FRONT NOW APPROACHING THE COAST. WILL HAVE TO CONSIDER A HIGH WIND
WARNING OVER THIS AREA AS WELL. STRONG UPSLOPE CONDITIONS HAVE BEEN
PRODUCING HEAVY SNOW INTO THE CASCADE EAST SLOPE ZONES...AND THIS
SHOULD CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY...ESPECIALLY IN WASHINGTON.
SNOW LEVELS APPEAR TO BE STARTING TO RISE OVER THE OREGON CASCADE
EAST SLOPES...SO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE ON SLOWING DOWN.
ELSEWHERE ADVISORIES STILL ON TRACK...THOUGH TEMPS ON RISE IN THE
BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILL ZONES...AND THIS ADVISORY MAY BE LOWERED
LATER THIS MORNING. GKH

PDT 874  ALW 874  PSC 863  YKM +63

.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...HEAVY SNOW WARNING TODAY FOR OREGON
        ZONES 42...43 AND WASHINGTON ZONE 25...26 AND 27...
     ...A SNOW ADVISORY TODAY FOR OREGON ZONES 46...47...50 AND
        WASHINGTON ZONE 30...
     ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR
        WASHINGTON ZONE 24 AND OREGON ZONES 41...
     ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY TODAY FOR WASHINGTON ZONES
        28...29 AND OREGON ZONES 44...45...
     ...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR OREGON ZONE 49...

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, Northwest Blue Mountains

When: November 28, 9:00 AM PST to 2:00 PM PST
Where: Northwest Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates: 46.264, -118.193 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard conditions were reported by Ski Bluewood from 9 am through early afternoon. Although only 2 inches of new snow was reported between 6 am and noon, winds in excess of 35 mph blew down trees and reduced visibilities to only a few feet along the road leading from Dayton to the ski area.

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

More

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: 5272837.