Winter Storm in Oregon, January 24 to 27, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Oregon, January 24 to 27, 2002
Start: 2002-01-24T02:00
End: 2002-01-27T12:00
Location: Oregon

January 24 to 27, 2002 · NWS PQR · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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.

Another strong winter storm moved into Northwest Oregon and lingered over the area for several days, bringing high winds to the coast and heavy snowfalls to inland areas. Florence reported sustained winds to 46 mph with gusts to 63 mph, Newport Jetty 39 mph with gusts to 53 mph, and Garibaldi 42 mph. Storm total snowfall accumulations included 32 inches at Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, 30 inches at Santiam Pass and Mt Hood Meadows, 27 inches at Bennett Pass, 24 inches at Blue Box Pass, 23 inches at Willamette Pass, and 21 inches at Government Camp in the Cascades. In the Coast Mountains, Buxton reported 22 inches, Wilson River Summit 15 inches, Sunset Summit 13 inches, and Mist 6 inches. In the Foothills, Detroit had 13 inches, the Upper Highlands 10 to 12 inches, and Brightwood 8 inches. In the Willamette Valley, the South Salem Foothills had 12 to 16 inches, Skyline Boulevard in the Portland West Hills 8 to 12 inches, Oregon City 5 to 6 inches, Amity 8 inches, Dallas 7 inches, Newburg 4 to 7 inches, West Linn 4 inches, and Corvallis 4 inches. Along the Lower Columbia, Clatskanie reported 8 inches. Along the Coastal Beaches, both Seaside and Cannon Beach reported 1 to 2 inches. In the Columbia River Gorge 1 to 2 inches were reported.

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 23, 8:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 8:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 PM PST WED JAN 23 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A WARM FRONT WILL PRODUCE SOME LIGHT RAIN AND MOUNTAIN
SNOW THROUGH TONIGHT. AN ADVANCING STRONG COLD FRONT WILL INCREASE
THE RAIN THURSDAY...WITH RAIN BECOMING HEAVY AT TIMES. WINDS WILL
INCREASE ALONG THE COAST AND IN THE COASTAL WATERS. THE FRONT IS
EXPECTED TO MOVE INLAND THURSDAY NIGHT. A COLD UPPER TROUGH WILL KEEP
SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON AND NORTHWEST OREGON UNDER COOL SHOWERY
CONDITIONS FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WITH VERY LOW SNOW LEVELS.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...APPROACHING SYSTEM NOW TAPPING INTO MOISTURE OUT NEAR
150 W SOUTH OF 40N...AND THIS BEING REFLECTED IN THE INCREASING
ECHOES OVER THE NORTHERN PORTION OF OUR FORECAST AREA ON THE NATIONAL
WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR. MODELS NOW SHOWING A LITTLE MORE
PRECIPITATION OVER OUR NORTHERN AREAS TONIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY IN
LINE WITH SATELLITE AND RADAR TRENDS. THEN THE RAIN REALLY INCREASES
THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT AS THE COLD FRONT APPROACHES AND THE 850
MB INFLOW INCREASES. WILL NEED TO CONSIDER GOING WITH A FLOOD WATCH
FOR THE RIVERS DRAINING THE COAST RANGE...BUT WILL WAIT TO SEE THE
AVIATION MODEL FIRST. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE CASCADES STILL LOOKS
GOOD AND WILL BE CONTINUED. WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT LOOK TO BE
FAIRLY STRONG...AND THE MESO ETA CONTINUES TO DEVELOP A 60 TO 65 KT
LOW LEVEL JET ALONG THE OREGON COAST LATE THURSDAY AND THURSDAY
EVENING. WILL ISSUE A HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE COASTAL HEADLANDS ON
THE OREGON SIDE FOR THIS...AND CONTINUE THE GALE WARNING.

THE MODELS APPEAR TO HAVE THE FRONT ONSHORE AND THROUGH THE NORTHWEST
PART OF THE AREA BY 12Z FRIDAY...A LITTLE EARLIER THAN 24 HOURS AGO.
MUCH COLDER AIR WILL SPREAD SOUTH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA...WITH
VERY LOW SNOW LEVELS FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE WEEKEND. STRENGTH AND
TIMING OF ANY SHORT WAVES MAY DETERMINE WHETHER SNOW GETS TO THE
VALLEY FLOOR.

.LONG TERM...NO CHANGE IN THE DAY SHIFT IDEA FOR NOW. MEDIUM RANGE
MODELS SIMILAR. CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE MRF WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY THE
AVIATION RUN. THE FEATURE TO WATCH HERE IS A LOW MOVING INTO WESTERN
WASHINGTON SUNDAY NIGHT. THE AVIATION IS A LITTLE WEAKER THAN THE
MRF...BUT IT IS ALSO A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTH BRINGING MORE LOW SNOW
LEVELS. TOLLESON

AST 9++++9 PDX 79+++8 SLE 69+++8 EUG 58+++8

.PQR...GALE WARNING COASTAL WATERS.
       WINTER STORM WATCH CASCADES THU AND THU NIGHT.
       HIGH WIND WATCH N AND CENTRAL OREGON COAST THU AFTERNOON AND
         THU NIGHT.

Event by event

12 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Cascade Foothills in Lane County

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Cascade Foothills in Lane County forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Cascades in Lane County

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Cascades in Lane County forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Central Coast Range of W Oregon

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Central Coast Range of W Oregon forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Central Oregon Coast

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Central Oregon Coast forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Central Willamette Valley

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Central Willamette Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Coast Range of Nw Oregon

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Coast Range of Nw Oregon forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Greater Portland Metro Area

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Greater Portland Metro Area forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Lower Columbia

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Lower Columbia forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, North Oregon Cascades Foothills

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: North Oregon Cascades Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Northern Oregon Cascades

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Northern Oregon Coast

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Coast forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Winter Storm, Western Columbia River Gorge

When: January 24, 2:00 AM PST to January 27, 12:00 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: 5278174, 5278175, 5278176, 5278177, 5278178, 5278179, 5278180, 5278181, 5278182, 5278183, 5278184, 5278185.