Winter Storm in Oregon, January 19 to 22, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Oregon, January 19 to 22, 2002
Start: 2002-01-19T03:00
End: 2002-01-22T21:00
Location: Oregon

January 19 to 22, 2002 · NWS PQR · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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.

A strong winter storm lingered over the area, bringing high winds to the coast and heavy snows to the inland areas of Northwest Oregon. The Newport Jetty reported sustained winds to 44 mph with gusts to 51 mph, while Garibaldi and Florence reported 40 mph winds. 72 hour snowfall totals included 70 inches at Santiam Pass, 66 inches at Timberline, 60 inches at Mt Hood Meadows, 57 inches at Bennett Pass and Government Camp, 44 inches at Blue Box Pass, and 35+ inches at Willamette Pass. In the Coast Range snowfalls included 12 inches at Buxton, 6 inches at Mist, 10 inches at Sunset Summit, and 9 inches at Wilson River Summit. In the Cascade Foothills the storm dumped 24 inches at Detroit, 16 inches at McKenzie Bridge, 14 inches at Brightwood, 10 inches above Estacada, and 6 inches at Pleasant Hill and Walterville. In the Columbia River Gorge accumulations were generally 5 inches above 500 ft elevation and 2 to 3 inches below. Skyline Boulevard in the Portland West Hills reported 2 to 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 Jan 19, 2:30 AM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 2:30 AM PST, 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
230 AM PST SAT JAN 19 2002

.SYNOPSIS...SHOWERS WILL DECREASE LATE TODAY AS A COLD UPPER TROUGH
MOVES INLAND. A WARM FRONT WILL SPREAD RAIN AND HEAVY CASCADE SNOW
ACROSS THE AREA LATER TONIGHT AND SUN. ADDITIONAL SYSTEMS WILL
CONTINUE THE WET WEATHER EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH LOW SNOW LEVELS AT
TIMES.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...COLD FRONT HAS MOVED INLAND...WITH SATELLITE SHOWING
COLD POOL OF SHOWERS MOVING INTO AREA THROUGH THIS MORNING. SHOWERS
SHOULD DECREASE IN AFTERNOON AS ASSOCIATED UPPER TROUGH MOVES EAST OF
CASCADES.

VERY STRONG JET POWERING PAC WARM FRONT INTO WA THIS EVENING...
SAGGING SOUTH INTO DISTRICT BY LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUING THROUGH
SUN. GOOD OROGRAPHIC FLOW FOR HEAVY MOUNTAIN PRECIPITATION
AMOUNTS...BUT AIR MASS WARMING SHOULD LIFT SNOW LEVEL ABOVE COAST
RANGE AND FOOTHILLS. WILL ISSUE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR CASCADES FOR
HEAVY SNOW AT PASS LEVELS. GALES ALSO INDICATED TONIGHT AND SUN WITH
DEEP SURFACE LOW PRES NORTHEAST PAC.

WILL MAINTAIN WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUN NIGHT AND MON AS COLD
CYCLONIC OROGRAPHIC FLOW INDICATED IN MODELS MOVES INTO AREA...FOR
CONTINUED HEAVY CASCADE SNOW AND FREQUENT LOWER ELEVATION SHOWERS.
PROBABLY WILL AGAIN NEED COAST RANGE AND FOOTHILL SNOW ADVISORIES BY
MON.

.LONG TERM...EXTENDED MODELS SIMILAR INDICATING LOW AMPLITUDE RIDGING
MOVING EAST ACROSS EASTERN PAC WED THROUGH FRI...BUT MAY BE DIRTY FOR
CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. WILLIS

AST 9++99  PDX 9++99  SLE 9++99  EUG 99+99

.PQR...SNOW ADVISORY TODAY S WA AND N OREGON CASCADES AND
       FOOTHILLS...AND COAST RANGE.
       WINTER STORM WARNING LATE TONIGHT AND SUN FOR THE WA AND
       OREGON CASCADES.
       WINTER STORM WATCH SUN NIGHT AND MON FOR THE WA AND OREGON
       CASCADES.
       GALE WARNING CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.

Event by event

10 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Cascade Foothills in Lane County

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Cascade Foothills in Lane County forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Cascades in Lane County

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Cascades in Lane County forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Central Coast Range of W Oregon

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Central Coast Range of W Oregon forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Central Oregon Coast

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Coast Range of Nw Oregon

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Coast Range of Nw Oregon forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Greater Portland Metro Area

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Greater Portland Metro Area forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, North Oregon Cascades Foothills

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: North Oregon Cascades Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Northern Oregon Cascades

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Northern Oregon Coast

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Coast forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Western Columbia River Gorge

When: January 19, 3:00 AM PST to January 22, 9:00 PM PST
Where: Western Columbia River Gorge forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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: 5278066, 5278067, 5278068, 5278166, 5278167, 5278168, 5278169, 5278170, 5278171, 5278172.