Oregon, 2002

Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 11 to 13, 2002

March 11 to 13, 2002 · NWS PQR · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A powerful Pacific storm dumped heavy snow on the Cascades and Coast Mountains. Snowfall totals for the 48 hour storm in the Cascades included 42 inches at Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, 27 inches at Mt Hood Meadows, 23 inches Bennett Pass, 28 inches at Santiam Pass, 22 inches at Government Camp, 15 inches at Tombstone Summit, and 14 inches at Blue Box Pass.

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.

A powerful Pacific storm dumped heavy snow on the Cascades and Coast Mountains. Snowfall totals for the 48 hour storm in the Cascades included 42 inches at Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood, 27 inches at Mt Hood Meadows, 23 inches Bennett Pass, 28 inches at Santiam Pass, 22 inches at Government Camp, 15 inches at Tombstone Summit, and 14 inches at Blue Box Pass. In the Coastal Mountains Sunset Summit reported 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 Mar 11, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 11, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before
NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR...CORRECTED
830 AM PST MON MAR 11 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH THROUGH THE NORTHWEST OREGON
AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON LATE TODAY AND EARLY TONIGHT. SHOWERS IN A
COOLER AIR MASS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE
WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...CURRENT FORECASTS BASED ON COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH
THE FORECAST AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT. NEW ETA AND
EXTRAPOLATION SUPPORT THIS SPEED. SO WILL CONTINUE HIGH WIND WARNING
FOR THE REST OF TODAY...AND A SNOW ADVISORY IS GOOD BET FOR THE
CASCADES TONIGHT IN THE AFTERNOON FORECAST. WITH THIS MORNING QPF
ENTERED INTO RIVER MODELS...BANK FULL IS BEST THE RIVERS CAN DO ALONG
THE COAST. CURRENT FORECASTS LOOK GOOD. HEAVY SURF ADVISORY BEING
ISSUED WITH LARGE SWELL BUILDING FURTHER TONIGHT.

.LONG TERM...NO CHANGE. STARMER

AST ++998 PDX ++898 SLE ++898 EUG ++898

.PQR...GALE WARNING COASTAL WATERS.
       HEAVY SURF ADVISORY COAST WATERS FOR LATER TONIGHT.
       HIGH WIND WARNING NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON COASTS TODAY.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 11, 6:37 AM PST, 5 hours 23 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
637 AM PST MON MAR 11 2002

TIME(PST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0630 AM    NEHALEM                   OR   OTHER
03/11/02   TILLAMOOK                      WEATHER SPOTTER REPORTED
                                          WIND GUSTS TO 65 MPH.
Local storm report, Mar 11, 7:16 AM PST, 4 hours 44 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
716 AM PST MON MAR 11 2002

TIME(PST)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0710 AM    NETARTS                   OR   OTHER
03/11/02   TILLAMOOK                      WEATHER SPOTTER TILLAMOOK
                                          1 REPORTED SUSTAINED
                                          WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH
                                          WITH GUST TO 62 MPH.

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Oregon Cascades

When
March 11, 12:00 PM PST to March 13, 12:00 PM PST
Where
Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Coast Range of Nw Oregon

When
March 11, 12:00 PM PST to March 13, 12:00 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

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, March 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: 5286198, 5286199.