Name: Flood in Washington, April 14, 2002
Start: 2002-04-14T03:00
End: 2002-04-14T11:47
Location: Washington

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 happened

The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.

Roads washed out and trees down due to flooding at Elk Meadows northwest of Cle Elum.

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 Apr 14, 1:20 AM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 14, 1:20 AM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
220 AM PDT SUN APR 14 2002

A COLD FRONT...NOW OVER THE CASCADES...IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE BLUE
MOUNTAINS JUST AFTER SUNRISE. PENDLETON DOPPLER RADAR SHOWING 40KT
WIND AROUND 5000 FEET MSL AHEAD OF THE FRONT. WIND SPEED AROUND 5000
FEET MSL EXPECTED TO BE 40-50KT JUST BEHIND THE COLD FRONT.  THE
STRONGEST WIND ALOFT AND LARGEST SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT SHOULD
BE OVER THE COLUMBIA BASIN AROUND SUNRISE. SURFACE WIND SPEED
EXPECTED TO JUST REMAIN BELOW WARNING CRITERIA.  THUS...I WILL
CANCEL HIGH WIND WATCH BUT WILL HIGHLIGHT VERY WINDY CONDITIONS FOR
TODAY.  WILL ALSO HIGHLIGHT VERY WINDY ALONG RIDGES OF BLUE
MOUNTAINS TODAY.

FLASH FLOODING IS BEING MONITORED CLOSELY THIS MORNING AS .2 TO .3
INCHES PER HOUR HAVE BEEN REPORTED AND HIGHER AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY
ALONG WEST FACING SLOPES.

FLOOD WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR MINOR FLOODING ALREADY OCCURRING
ALONG THE YAKIMA RIVER...AND FOR EXPECTED MINOR FLOODING ALONG THE
UMATILLA RIVER TONIGHT AND MONDAY.

SHOWERS SHOULD WIND DOWN FROM WEST TO EAST TODAY AS A DRY...COLD
AND STABLE AIR MASS MOVES OVER THE AREA. THE UPPER TROUGH THEN TAKES
A POSITION OVER THE PACNW TONIGHT. ANOTHER WAVE LOOKS TO DIVE
SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE TROUGH AND OVER THE PACNW LATE TONIGHT AND
EARLY MONDAY. THUS WILL CONTINUE SOME CHANCE OF SHOWERS. SNOW LEVELS
WILL BE QUITE LOW BY MONDAY MORNING...ROUGHLY 3000 TO 3500 FEET.
MITTELSTADT

EXTENDED...A TROUGH WILL REMAIN OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THROUGH
WEDNESDAY WITH A RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC. THIS RIDGE WILL
MOVE EAST THURSDAY BRINGING DRY AND WARMER CONDITIONS THURSDAY AND
FRIDAY. THE RIDGE BREAKS DOWN SATURDAY FOR A RETURN TO ZONAL FLOW
AND A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION IN OUR NORTHERN ZONES. NIPPER

PDT 423  ALW 423  PSC 323  YKM 222

.KPDT...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...FLOOD WARNING FOR THE YAKIMA RIVER AT THE ELK MEADOWS
        SUBDIVISION BETWEEN EASTON AND CLE ELUM.
     ...FLOOD WARNING FOR THE UMATILLA RIVER AT THE RIVERSIDE
        AREA OF PENDLETON...AND FOR THE UMATILLA RIVER FROM
        PENDLETON TO ECHO.

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, East Slopes Southern Cascades

When: April 14, 3:00 AM PST to 11:47 AM PST
Where: East Slopes Southern Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, April 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: 5292758.