Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 18 to 19, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Oregon, January 18 to 19, 2002
Start: 2002-01-18T09:00
End: 2002-01-19T22:00
Location: Oregon

January 18 to 19, 2002 · NWS PQR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Snowfall reported included 12 inches at Mt Hood Meadows, 11 inches at Timberline and Government Camp, 9 inches at Bennett Pass, 7 inches and 7 inches at Santiam Pass. In the Coastal Mountains both Sunset and Wilson reported 1 inch of snow.

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.

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 Jan 18, 8:30 AM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 8:30 AM PST, 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 AM PST FRI JAN 18 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A WEAK WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE LIGHT
PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY. THE COLD FRONT WITH
THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL COME ONSHORE TONIGHT WITH SNOW LEVELS
FALLING TO NEAR 1000 FEET IN THE COLD AIR BEHIND IT ON SATURDAY
MORNING. ONSHORE FLOW BEHIND THE FRONT WILL GIVE PLENTY OF SHOWERS
SATURDAY WITH LOW SNOW LEVELS. THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE
STRONGER AND WILL SPREAD A WARM FRONT OVER THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY
NIGHT CONTINUING SUNDAY...FOR MORE RAIN AND SIGNIFICANT MOUNTAIN
SNOW. A SECOND SURGE WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL COME INLAND SUNDAY
NIGHT...WITH SHOWERS AND LOW SNOW LEVELS AGAIN EXPECTED IN THE POST
FRONTAL AIR MASS MONDAY. THE PARADE OF WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL CONTINUE
INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR CONTINUES TO
SHOW SOME AREAS OF LIGHT PRECIPITATION FROM WARM AIR ADVECTION
MOISTURE OVER THE FORECAST AREA. MODELS SAY THIS WILL CONTINUE
THROUGH THE DAY...INCREASING EITHER LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT
AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT PORTION OF THE WEATHER SYSTEM. SNOW LEVELS
WILL DROP IN THE POST FRONTAL AIR MASS TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING
WITH SNOW ADVISORY AMOUNTS IN THE CASCADES AND SOME SNOW ON THE COAST
RANGES AS WELL.

NEXT SYSTEM IS A STRONG WARM FRONT RIDING A LITTLE FLATTER PACIFIC
FLOW INTO OUR FORECAST AREA. 850 MB INFLOW AROUND 45 KT AND
PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES NEAR AN INCH...SO SHOULD SEE A GOOD SOAKING
IN THE VALLEYS AND AT THE COAST...WITH HEAVY SNOW IN THE
MOUNTAINS...PROBABLY ENOUGH TO WARRANT A WATCH AS WE GET CLOSER. WILL
ISSUE A SNOW ADVISORY AND REISSUE A SPECIAL STATEMENT ABOUT THESE TWO
SYSTEMS FOR THE MORNING PACKAGE.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY TONIGHT AND SATURDAY FOR WIND AND HAZARDOUS SEAS
WITH THE FIRST SYSTEM. GALE WINDS LOOK LIKELY FOR THE SYSTEM SATURDAY
NIGHT AND SUNDAY.

.LONG TERM...A SECOND SURGE BRINGS MORE RAIN SUNDAY NIGHT AND EARLY
MONDAY...THEN COOLER SHOWERS WITH LOW SNOW LEVELS AGAIN. WILLSON

AST 8+8+9  PDX 6+8+9  SLE 6+799  EUG 49789

.PQR...SNOW ADVISORY...SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH OREGON CASCADES.
       SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY...CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 18, 4:10 AM PST, 4 hours 50 minutes before

ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-182300-

WINTER WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
410 AM PST FRI JAN 18 2002

...OCCASIONALLY HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW THIS WEEKEND IN SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON...

...INCREASINGLY WET WEATHER OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS OF SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON THIS WEEKEND...

A SERIES OF INCREASINGLY STRONG WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL BRING
OCCASIONALLY HEAVY SNOW TO THE MOUNTAINS AND RAIN TO THE VALLEYS AND
THE COAST THIS WEEKEND.

THE FIRST SYSTEM WILL COME ONSHORE TONIGHT. THIS SYSTEM WILL LIKELY
PRODUCE 6 TO 12 INCH TOTALS OF SNOW IN THE SOUTH WASHINGTON AND
NORTHERN OREGON CASCADES DURING THE 24 HOUR PERIOD COVERING TONIGHT
AND SATURDAY. SOME SNOW ACCUMULATION IS LIKELY IN THE COAST RANGE AS
WELL. THE SNOW LEVEL BE AS LOW AS 1000 OR 1500 FEET AT TIMES.

A STRONGER AND WETTER SYSTEM SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY WILL PRODUCE
MORE HEAVY SNOW IN THE CASCADES...WITH TOTALS LIKELY EXCEEDING ONE
FOOT...POSSIBLY REACHING AS MUCH AS 2 FEET IN AREAS. THE SNOW LEVEL
WILL RISE TO NEAR 3500 FEET.

THE STRONGER SYSTEM SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY WILL LIKELY PRODUCE
WINDY CONDITIONS ALONG THE COAST...WITH SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL ALONG
THE COAST...IN THE INLAND VALLEYS...AND ALONG THE COAST RANGE...WITH
POSSIBLE RISES ESPECIALLY FOR RIVERS ON THE COAST.

TOLLESON

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Oregon Cascades

When: January 18, 9:00 AM PST to January 19, 10:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Coast Range of Nw Oregon

When: January 18, 9:00 AM PST to January 19, 10:00 PM PST
Where: Coast Range of Nw 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

Every storm in Oregon in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, January 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: 5278063, 5278064.