1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 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 Dec 21, 9:10 AM PST, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
910 AM PST SAT DEC 21 2002
LOW PRESSURE AREA SLOWLY MOVING ACROSS THE CASCADES THIS AM.
SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATING THE LOW TRYING TO OPEN INTO A WAVE.
RADAR CURRENTLY SHOWING THE STRONGEST BAND OF PRECIPITATION
CURRENTLY MOVING NORTH ALONG THE BLUES. SPOTTERS INDICATING SOME
MIXED RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS THE REGION WITH ACCUMULATIONS BELOW
ADVISORY CRITERIA. EXPECT TO SEE RAIN AND SNOW END ALONG THE EAST
SLOPES OF THE CASCADES OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS...AND CONTINUE
THROUGH THE DAY REMAINDER OF THE CWFA AS THE LOW TRACKS ACROSS
REGION. SURFACE LOW CURRENTLY OVER THE COLUMBIA BASIN AND UNDER
FORECASTED BY 3 MB BY ALL THE MODELS. PROGS INDICATE THE SURFACE LOW
TO OPEN AS IT TRACKS EAST INTO IDAHO TONIGHT. CONFIDENCE IS NOT VERY
STRONG THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN. AT THE TIME EXPECT THE LOW TO HOLD
TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH FOR WRAPAROUND MOISTURE TO GENERATE ADVISORY
SNOW AMOUNTS FOR WALLOWA COUNTY. THE SECOND AREA OF CONCERN IS THE
BLUE MOUNTAINS. THE CURRENT FORECAST INDICATES ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 6
INCHES THROUGH TONIGHT...WHICH BUMPS ADVISORY CRITERIA. WILL HAVE TO
TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS FOR THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE AS REPORTS
INDICATE 1-3 INCHES THERE NOW...HOWEVER AM LEANING TOWARDS NO
HIGHLIGHT AT THIS TIME. WILL BUMP UP POPS FOR TODAY ACROSS THE
FOOTHILLS AS NEXT SURGE OF MOISTURE CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH THE
OCHOCOS WILL TRACK NORTH ALONG THE BLUES. THIS SHOULD GIVE KPDT AND
KALW LOW END MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION THIS PM. TOBIN
PDT 63- ALW 73- PSC 42- YKM 63-
.KPDT...SNOW ADVISORY FOR ORZ050 (WALLOWA COUNTY) FOR SATURDAY
EVENING THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING FOR 3 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW.ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-211330- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR...COR EXTENDED HEADER... 600 AM PST SAT DEC 21 2002 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON .DAY ONE...TODAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. A WEAKENING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE THROUGH OREGON TODAY PROVIDING VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW. AS THE SYSTEM MOVES INTO IDAHO TONIGHT...WRAP AROUND MOISTURE AND OROGRAPHIC LIFT WILL ENHANCE SNOWFALL TOTALS TO THE ADVISORY CRITERIA LEVEL OF 3 TO 5 INCHES. THEREFORE...A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT FOR WALLOWA COUNTY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow fell near Joseph with 12 inches of snow reported, where 9 inches fell between 3:00 PM and 6:30 PM on the 21st.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 2002
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: 5325512.