Heavy Snow, Ochoco-John Day Highlands
- When
- March 18, 3:00 PM PST to March 19, 5:52 AM PST
- Where
- Ochoco-John Day Highlands forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
8 inches at Austin in Grant County.
Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 18 to 19, 2002
1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 18, 2:30 PM PST, 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 18, 2:30 PM PST, 30 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 230 PM PST MON MAR 18 2002 A PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL DELIVER A SIGNIFICANT SURGE OF MOISTURE TO THE REGION TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. ENOUGH COLD AIR REMAINS EAST OF THE CASCADES THAT THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD START OUT AS SNOW MANY AREAS. HOWEVER...WARMER PACIFIC AIR WILL CONTINUE TO ENTER THE REGION WITH TEMPERATURES MODERATING OVERNIGHT. A WARM FRONT WILL LIFT NORTHWARD INTO EASTERN WASHINGTON TUESDAY. THIS FRONT WILL BE A FOCUS AREA FOR ADDITIONAL PRECIPITATION. WITH OROGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT ADDED IN...THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS AND HIGHER TERRAIN ALONG THE WASHINGTON EAST SLOPES APPEAR ON TRACK FOR A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SNOW. BIG NEWS AFTER THIS PRECIPITATION TONIGHT AND TUESDAY WILL BE WARMING TEMPERATURES. A MUCH WARMER AND DRYER AIR MASS WILL PERSIST OVER THE AREA WEDNESAY AND THURSDAY. THE COLD SYSTEM OVER CANADA SHOULD REMAIN TO THE NORTH. BAUCK EXTENDED...THE STRONG AREA OF LOW PRESSURE CURRENTLY LOCATED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY AT 42 NORTH...150 WEST WILL CONTINUE TO SLOWLY TRACK TO THE EAST. THE STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW ALONG IT/S EASTERN BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE TO GIVE THE REGION SPRING LIKE WEATHER AS TEMPERATURES RISE INTO THE 60S THROUGH FRIDAY. THE SYSTEM SHOULD MOVE ONSHORE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SPREAD PRECIPITATION INTO THE REGION FOR THE WEEKEND. NOT MUCH COLD AIR IS LOCATED BEHIND THE SYSTEM...SINCE THE FETCH OF THE COOLER AIR IS COMPLETELY OVER THE OCEAN. THEREFORE TEMPERATURES WILL COOL SLIGHTLY THIS WEEKEND AFTER THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PASSES. HENRY. PDT 7511 ALW 8611 PSC 4411 YKM 4311 .KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL. .KPDT...SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT AND TUESDAY IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON AND WASHINGTON.
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Virginia, March 18, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Tennessee, March 18, 2002
- Flooding in Kentucky, March 18 to 21, 2002
- Flash Flood in Kentucky, March 18, 2002
- Flash Flood in North Carolina, March 18, 2002
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Montana, March 18 to 21, 2002
- Winter Weather in Vermont, March 18, 2002
- Flash Flooding in Oklahoma, March 18 to 19, 2002
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, March 18, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 18, 2002
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 18 to 19, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, March 18 to 19, 2002
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: 5286778.