Heavy Snow, Northern Oregon Cascades
- When
- December 16, 6:00 AM PST to December 18, 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 16 to 18, 2002
Post-frontal cold air brought heavy snow to the area. Government Camp received 10 inches, Timberline 13 inches, Mt Hood Meadows 18 inches, Bennett Pass 9 inches, Willamette Pass and Blue Box Pass 6 inches each, Santiam Pass and Mt Bachelor 3 inches each.
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.
Post-frontal cold air brought heavy snow to the area. Government Camp received 10 inches, Timberline 13 inches, Mt Hood Meadows 18 inches, Bennett Pass 9 inches, Willamette Pass and Blue Box Pass 6 inches each, Santiam Pass and Mt Bachelor 3 inches each. In the Coastal Mountains, Wilson River Summit received 3 inches.
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 16, 3:20 AM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 3:20 AM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
230 AM PST MON DEC 16 2002
.SYNOPSIS...THE LATEST PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM NEAR THE COAST THIS
MORNING WILL MOVE INLAND THIS MORNING. A COOL UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL
FOLLOW LATER TODAY...AND LINGER THE REST OF THIS WEEK. THE SNOW LEVEL
WILL LOWER TO BELOW PASS LEVELS LATER TODAY. THE STORM TRACK WILL
SHIFT FARTHER SOUTH THIS WEEK...WITH THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY HEADING INTO CALIFORNIA. THE JET STREAM AND STORM TRACK
SHOULD SHIFT INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BY THE END OF THE WEEK.
.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...A STRONG LOW DEVELOPED RAPIDLY JUST OFF THE SOUTH
OREGON COAST EARLY THIS MORNING. THE LOW TRACKED INTO SOUTHWESTERN
OREGON WITH THE STRONGEST PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINING SOUTH OF OUR
CWA...SO WILL DROP THE HIGH WIND WARNINGS FOR THE COAST SOUTHERN
WILLAMETTE VALLEY. A BROAD UPPER TROUGH HAS SETTLED INTO THE GULF OF
ALASKA WITH THE JET STREAM SAGGING INTO CALIFORNIA. THIS WILL LEAVE
OUR AREA IN A COOL UNSTABLE AIR MASS THIS WEEK. 500 MB TEMPERATURES
DROP TO -30 C OVERNIGHT...AND REMAIN BELOW -30 C TUESDAY. WILL
INCLUDE A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS FOR THE COAST TODAY AND TUESDAY.
WILL LEAVE OUT OF INLAND AREAS FOR NOW AS LIFTED INDICES ABOVE ZERO
INLAND TODAY AND CURRENT ETA IS NOT VERY LOW INLAND TUESDAY.
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS PLENTY OF SHOWERS OFF SHORE AND THOUGH MODEL
850 MB WINDS ARE NOT THAT STRONG WILL ISSUE A SNOW ADVISORY FOR LATER
TODAY AND TONIGHT.
.LONG TERM...MODELS CONTINUE TO BRING THE NEXT SYSTEM JUST OFFSHORE
BY THURSDAY...AND THEN SLOWLY MOVE IT SOUTH OF THE AREA AND THEN
INLAND OVER CALIFORNIA ON SATURDAY. WILL KEEP THE CURRENT UNSETTLED
SHOWERY CONDITIONS THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD. BOHL
AST 88876 PDX 87865 SLE 87865 EUG 87865
.PQR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.
.HIGH SURF ADVISORY...CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.
.SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE CASCADES TODAY AND TONIGHT.Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 6:30 AM PST, 23 hours 30 minutes before
ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-161430- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON 630 AM PST SUN DEC 15 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE... HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COAST...AND THE NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COAST RANGES TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT. STORM WARNING FOR CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE TODAY AND TONIGHT. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE TODAY THROUGH MONDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SHOULD UNEXPECTED CONDITIONS ARISE SPOTTERS SHOULD CALL IN AS PER THEIR SPOTTER CALL IN CRITERIA. REPORTS OF HIGH WIND GUSTS ARE HELPFUL.
Event by event
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Central Coast Range of W Oregon
- When
- December 16, 6:00 AM PST to December 18, 10:00 AM PST
- Where
- Central Coast Range of W Oregon forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in California, December 16, 2002
- Dust Storm and High Wind in California, December 16, 2002
- High Wind and Strong Wind in California, December 16, 2002
- Heavy Snow in New York, December 16, 2002
- Winter Storm in Colorado, December 16 to 18, 2002
- Winter Storm in Utah, December 16 to 18, 2002
- Extreme Cold in Florida, December 16, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 16 to 17, 2002
- Winter Storm in Utah, December 16 to 18, 2002
- Flooding in California, December 16 to 17, 2002
- Dense Fog in Missouri, December 16, 2002
- Winter Storm in California, December 16 to 17, 2002
More
Every storm in Oregon in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 2002
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: 5325537, 5325538.