Winter Storm, Washington Palouse
- When
- February 7, 11:00 PM PST to February 8, 6:00 AM PST
- Where
- Washington Palouse forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 47.261, -117.463 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in Washington, February 7 to 8, 2002
A low pressure center moving directly across northern Washington brought snow and strong wind to the Washington Palouse early on the morning of February 8. While the snowfall totals of 2 to 4 inches are not considered especially heavy in this region, sustained winds as high as 40 mph and gusts as high as 53 mph at the Pullman-Moscow Airport blew the snow into deep drifts with low visibilities.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
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 OTX wrote it up.
A low pressure center moving directly across northern Washington brought snow and strong wind to the Washington Palouse early on the morning of February 8. While the snowfall totals of 2 to 4 inches are not considered especially heavy in this region, sustained winds as high as 40 mph and gusts as high as 53 mph at the Pullman-Moscow Airport blew the snow into deep drifts with low visibilities. Several major highways had to be closed for a time, including WA Highway 272 between Colfax and Palouse, WA Highway 6 near Palouse, portions of WA Highway 270 between Pullman and Moscow, and US Highway 195 between Pullman and Colfax. Several trees were blown onto major highways near Palouse and Colfax, requiring removal to re-open these highways. Several power lines were also blown down near Colfax.
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 7, 2:30 PM PST, 8 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 7, 2:30 PM PST, 8 hours 30 minutes before
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
230 PM PST THU FEB 7 2002
THE STRONG WAVE OFF THE SOUTHERN OREGON COAST HAS UNDERGONE
INTENSIFICATION OVER THE LAST SEVERAL HOURS AND IS NOW QUITE DYNAMIC.
THE LATEST MODELS CONTINUE TO MOVE THIS SYSTEM EAST-NORTHEASTWARD
THROUGH OREGON TONIGHT. THIS WILL LIKELY BRING SIGNIFICANT RAIN/SNOW
TO THE SOUTHEASTERNMOST ZONES OF OUR CWA WITH LESSER AMOUNTS AS YOU
MOVE NORTHWESTWARD. SNOW LEVELS ARE CURRENTLY AROUND 4000 FEET AND
WILL BE COMING DOWN TO AROUND 2500 FEET OVERNIGHT. THEREFORE HAVE
ISSUED HEAVY SNOW/WINTER STORM WARNINGS FOR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS...THE
CAMAS PRAIRIE AND THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS THROUGH FRIDAY.
ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM IS A STRONG SURFACE LOW. AS THIS
PASSES THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT WILL LIKELY SEE A WIND SHIFT AND SOME
GUSTY WINDS...MAINLY SOUTHEAST MOUNTAINS AND THE PALOUSE. ONCE THIS
SYSTEM MOVES TO OUR EAST ON FRIDAY...SNOWFALL WILL BEGIN TO TAPER OFF
MOST AREAS BY FRIDAY NIGHT. A RIDGE THEN BEGINS TO OVER THE INLAND
NORTHWEST FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY FOR A DRYING AND WARMING TREND.
SOME WARM ADVECTION BEGINS TO AFFECT THE AREA ON SATURDAY NIGHT AND
SUNDAY...BUT APPEARS TO MAINLY REACH THE NORTHERN ZONES AND CASCADES.
CC
.EXTENDED...A COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE DISTRICT DURING THE
FIRST TWO DAYS OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. THIS FRONT WILL BRING COOLER
TEMPS ALONG WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN OR SNOW. ON WEDNESDAY...AN UPPER
LEVEL RIDGE WILL DRY THINGS OUT A BIT ACROSS OUR AREA...BUT BY
THURSDAY ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING A CHANCE FOR SNOW OR RAIN TO
THE DISTRICT.
...THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRODUCT CONCERNING WARNINGS AND FORECASTS
IS VALID ONLY AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE. THE LATEST WARNING AND
FORECAST INFORMATION WILL BE FOUND IN THE APPROPRIATE PRODUCTS...
GEG 029/037/025/039/030/042 742355
COE 028/037/026/038/029/040 742355
PUW 032/038/028/039/031/042 851244
LWS 036/045/033/046/035/048 951133
CQV 028/036/027/038/030/041 542455
SPT 028/035/026/036/029/040 542455
WWP 028/034/026/035/027/037 983344
EAT 029/039/028/038/030/039 311122
MWH 030/044/029/042/032/045 311122
.OTX...HEAVY SNOW WARNING THROUGH FRIDAY ID ZONE 4 AND 27
...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH FRIDAY WA ZONE 31.The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Winter Storm in Idaho, February 7 to 8, 2002
- High Wind in Oregon, February 7, 2002
- High Wind in Washington, February 7, 2002
- High Wind in Washington, February 7, 2002
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 7 to 9, 2002
- High Wind in Oregon, February 7, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, February 7 to 8, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Washington, February 7 to 8, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Montana, February 7 to 8, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Idaho, February 7, 2002
- High Wind in Nevada, February 7, 2002
- High Wind in California, February 7, 2002
More
Every storm in Washington in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 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: 5287357.