Heavy Snow in Washington, January 18 to 19, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow in Washington, January 18 to 19, 2002
Start: 2002-01-18T21:00
End: 2002-01-19T14:00
Location: Washington

January 18 to 19, 2002 · NWS OTX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

The onset of strong, moist westerly flow with a cold air mass in place led to heavy snow for northeast Washington as well as near the Cascade crest from late evening on January 18 into the 19th. 5".

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

The onset of strong, moist westerly flow with a cold air mass in place led to heavy snow for northeast Washington as well as near the Cascade crest from late evening on January 18 into the 19th. Snowfall totals through this event include: Quartz Peak SNOTEL...18", 49 North Ski Area...13", Mount Spokane Ski Area...12.5", Bunchgrass Meadows SNOTEL...10", Otis Orchards...7", Boundary Dam...6", Ione...6", Rosalia...6", Oakesdale...6", Williams Lake...5", Bodie Mountain...5", Deer Park...4.5", Onion Creek...4.3", Wellpinit...4", NWS Spokane...3.5", Colville...3.5", and Springdale...3.5".

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 Jan 18, 8:40 PM PST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 8:40 PM PST, 20 minutes before

EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
840 PM PST FRI JAN 18 2002

FCST CHALLENGE OVERNIGHT WL BE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...WITH NO
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO CURRENT SUITE OF ADVISORIES...WARNING AND
WATCHES.

SPEED MAX AND ASSOCIATED DIGGING VORT JUST OFF THE PAC NW COAST...
WITH AVN DOING A DECENT JOB ON ITS INITIALIZATION. THIS WAVE FCST TO
TRACK SEWD INTO ORE OVERNIGHT...WITH MUCH OF ERN WA/N ID ON THE
FAVORED LEFT OF THE HT FALL CENTER. CANOPY OF LIGHT SNOW OVERTAKING
PRETTY MUCH ALL OF MY CWA...WITH LOW-LEVEL WAA/ISENTROPIC ASCENT AND
JET LEVEL DIVERGENCE...BUT SO FAR ONLY TRACE AMTS FOR LIQUID
EQUIVALENTS. INITIAL CONCERN WAS WITH THE OBVIOUS LACK OF AVAILABLE
AMNTS OF WATER VAPOR (MOISTURE)...WITH 00Z RAOB PLOTS SHOWING NO
MORE THAN ABOUT 0.6 PWAT ALONG THE COAST. THE 12Z-18Z MODEL RUNS WERE
OVERDOING THIS AND CRANKING OUT QUITE A BIT OF PRECIP. INSPECTION OF
THE IR LOOP DID NOT QUITE INDICATE SUCH A VICIOUS STORM. THE 00Z
ETA/AVN ARE NOW GENERALLY DRIER WITH THE AMNT OF PRECIP THAT IS
EXPECTED TO FALL OVERNIGHT AND INTO SAT. ETA WAS QUITE A BIT TOO SLOW
ON THE EWD EXTENT OF THE INITIAL FIELD OF LIGHT SNOW...BUT 00Z THE
RUN HAS TRIED TO DO SOME CATCHING UP. NOW...MUCH OF THE PRECIP IS
FCST TO BEGIN TO DECREASE OVER THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF ERN WA JUST
AFTER 12Z. A BIG PART OF THE FORCING FOR THE DEEPEST AND STRONGEST
ASCENT IS FCST TO DIG MAINLY S OF MY CWA...INTO ORE THRU 12Z WITH
THIS OPEN WAVE. THUS...QPF AMNTS BY MODELS DO NOT INDICATE
WIDE-SPREAD WARNING ACCUMULATIONS FOR THE SPOKANE AREA...GIVEN A
TYPICAL 10 TO 1 RATIO. HOWEVER...VERTICAL TEMP PROFILES FAVOR A RATIO
CLOSER TO A POWDERY 20 TO 1...WHICH WL LIKELY YIELD WARNING AMNTS.
FLUFFY SNOW CURRENTLY FALLING ON THE BUICK IN THE PACKING LOT
SUPPORTS AND CONFIRMS THIS. N ID AND NE WA MTN ZONES WL CERTAINLY SEE
THE LARGEST ACCUMULATIONS...WITH A SIGNIFICANT WLY COMP TO THE FLOW
PROMOTING LEE PRECIP SHADOWING THE W BASIN ZONES.

PRECIP MAY INITIALLY FALL AS LIQUID IN THE L-C VALLEY THIS EVENING...
WITH SFC TEMPS IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S. HOWEVER THIS SHOULD TURN TO
SNOW RATHER QUICKLY AS THE LOWER TROP SATURATES AND COOLS
DIABATICALLY. SOUNDINGS SUPPORT THIS.

...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 025/035/026/037/029/036 +93977
COE 025/034/026/035/029/035 +95977
PUW 026/034/026/036/029/036 +94944
LWS 031/041/031/042/034/043 982844
CQV 022/034/026/036/029/036 +74977
SPT 024/033/027/034/028/034 +86977
WWP 024/031/026/033/027/033 ++8+77
EAT 026/043/030/044/029/039 715733
MWH 027/042/030/045/030/038 834734

.KOTX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY FOR ID ZONES 1
        AND 4 AND WA ZN 37...
     ...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND SATURDAY FOR ID ZNS 2 AND 3
        AND WA ZNS 33 AND 36...
     ...SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT AND SATURDAY FOR WA ZNS 31 AND 38...
     ...SNOW ADVISORY SATURDAY FOR ID ZN 27...
     ...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR SUNDAY FOR ID ZN 27 AND WA ZNS 31 AND
        42...

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Washington Palouse

When: January 18, 9:00 PM PST to January 19, 2:00 PM PST
Where: Washington Palouse forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.261, -117.463 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Spokane Area

When: January 18, 9:00 PM PST to January 19, 2:00 PM PST
Where: Spokane Area forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.599, -117.911 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northeast Mountains

When: January 18, 9:00 PM PST to January 19, 2:00 PM PST
Where: Northeast Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.184, -117.511 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

Every storm in Washington in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, 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: 5279149, 5279150, 5279151.