Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 20 to 21, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 20 to 21, 2002
Start: 2002-12-20T23:00
End: 2002-12-21T14:00
Location: Oregon

December 20 to 21, 2002 · NWS PQR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Santiam Pass received 16 inches of snow, Timberline 15 inches, Government Camp 13 inches, White River 12 inches, 10 inches at Blue Box Pass and 9 inches at Mt Hood Meadows.

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 PQR wrote it up.

Santiam Pass received 16 inches of snow, Timberline 15 inches, Government Camp 13 inches, White River 12 inches, 10 inches at Blue Box Pass and 9 inches at Mt Hood Meadows.

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 20, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 20, 8:30 PM PST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 PM PST FRI DEC 20 2002

.SYNOPSIS...UPPER/SURFACE LOW ARE MOVING ONTO THE COAST TONIGHT NEAR
FLORENCE AND WILL WEAKEN AS THEY MOVE SLOWLY EAST ACROSS OREGON
TONIGHT/SAT MORNING. A WEAK SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE
AREA SAT AFTERNOON...AND THEN DRYING WILL BEGIN SUN AS A WEAK PAC
UPPER RIDGE MOVES INTO THE AREA...CONTINUING THROUGH MON NIGHT. THE
NEXT PAC FRONT WILL WEAKEN AND SPLIT AS IT MOVES INTO THE AREA LATE
TUE WITH MOST OF THE ENERGY GOING SOUTH.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...NEW ETA SIMILAR TO AVN WITH LOW MOVING FROM FLORENCE
TO THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF OREGON TONIGHT AND SAT MORNING. THIS TRACK
ALLOWS A BETTER THREAT OF LIGHT RAIN INTO THE DISTRICT OVERNIGHT AS
INCREASED ONSHORE FLOW MOVES INTO SOUTHERN SECTIONS.

EXPECT MORE SCATTERED SHOWERS LATER SAT AS A SHORTWAVE MOVES
SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA. SOME MOUNTAIN SHOWERS MAY CONTINUE INTO
SUN MORNING BEFORE DRIER NORTHERLY FLOW DEVELOPS AHEAD OF AN
APPROACHING WEAK UPPER RIDGE. A DEVELOPING INVERSION UNDER THE RIDGE
FOR MON SHOULD AID NIGHT/MORNING FOG FORMATION.

.LONG TERM...MODELS STILL CONTINUE SPLIT FLOW FOR SYSTEM COMING IN
TUE/WED WITH MOST OF THE ENERGY MOVING SOUTH OF THE AREA. MODEL
CONSENSUS FAVORS WED NIGHT/THU WITH BETTER THREAT OF RAIN POSSIBLY
EXTENDING INTO FRI IF SHORT WAVE RIDGE MOVING INTO EASTERN PAC NOT
SHARP ENOUGH TO PREVENT OVERRUNNING RAIN. LIKENS

AST 743110  PDX 764110  SLE 975100  EUG 986100

.PQR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 20, 6:30 AM PST, 16 hours 30 minutes before

ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-211430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
630 AM PST FRI DEC 20 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...

GALE WARNING TODAY NEWPORT SOUTH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...

GALE FORCE WINDS POSSIBLE COAST AT TIMES TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SHOULD UNEXPECTED CONDITIONS ARISE SPOTTERS SHOULD CALL IN AS PER
THEIR SPOTTER CALL IN CRITERIA.

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Oregon Cascades

When: December 20, 11:00 PM PST to December 21, 2:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Cascades 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

Every storm in Oregon in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5325539.