Strong moist westerly flow just south of a stalled frontal boundary brought heavy snow for elevations above 4000 feet to the Cascade crest, the northeast mountains of Washington, and the northeast Blue Mountains. 12".
Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
Strong moist westerly flow just south of a stalled frontal boundary brought heavy snow for elevations above 4000 feet to the Cascade crest, the northeast mountains of Washington, and the northeast Blue Mountains. Two-day snowfall totals in the Cascades include: Stevens Pass Ski Area...62", Miners Ridge SNOTEL...49", Lyman Lake SNOTEL...40", Harts Pass SNOTEL...31", Park Creek SNOTEL...30", Stevens Pass SNOTEL...35", and Blewett Pass SNOTEL...12". Two-day snowfall totals in northeast Washington include: Mount Spokane Ski Area...15", Quartz Peak SNOTEL...9". In the northeast Blue Mountains, the nearby Bluewood Ski area received 23" and the Spruce Springs SNOTEL site received 16" of snow.
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 23, 8:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
830 PM PST WED JAN 23 2002
COMPLEX UPPER CYCLONE IN NORTHERN GULF OF ALASKA WITH DEEP TROUGH
EXTENDING SOUTHWEST THROUGH 155W IN COMBINATION WITH MOIST UPPER JET
FLATTENING THE EAST PACIFIC RIDGE. STILL NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT PER
00Z AIRCRAFT AND RADIOSONDE REPORTS WITH A WAVE CONTINUING ACROSS
EASTERN WA. SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE WAVE HAS SHIFTED FURTHER EAST
WITH NORTHERN PORTION CONTINUING TO SIT UNDER THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF
THE JET STREAM...WHILE A WARM FRONT LIES BENEATH. OTX 88D IS OUT OF
SERVICE...HOWEVER CALLS TO SPOTTERS INDICATED SNOW HAD ENDED A FEW
HOURS AGO ACROSS THE COE-PUW AREAS...WITH JUST A FEW SPOTTY FLURRIES
DOWN TOWARD LEWISTON. EARLY ZFP UPDATE HANDLED THE BREAK IN THE
ACTION. RADARS FURTHER WEST CONFIRM WIDESPREAD RAIN AND MOUNTAIN
SNOWS WITH SOME SLOSH OVER THE CASCADE CREST. SPOTTY LIGHT MIXED
PRECIPITATION HAS OCCURRED AT ELLENSBURG THIS EVENING OUT OF A 6500-
8000 FOOT CLOUD BASE. WESTERLY FLOW HAS INCREASED AT STAMPEDE
PASS...SO SIGNIFICANT DESCENT BELOW THE CLOUD DECK IS OCCURRING. A
CALL TO MAZAMA SPOTTER REVEALED NO SOLID OVERCAST AT THIS TIME. WILL
FINE-TUNE THE EASTERN CASCADE ZONE TO EMPHASIZE THE ACCUMULATIONS AS
EXPECTED TO BE NEAR THE CREST. WILL ALSO INDICATE THIS ON AN UPDATE
TO THE WSW. SPRINKLES AND FLURRIES SHOULD BE SPOTTY AT BEST ACROSS
THE WESTERN BASIN THROUGH THE OKANOGAN VALLEY OVERNIGHT.
WARM ADVECTION CONTINUES AT LOW TO MID LEVELS...AND EVENING SPOKANE
SOUNDING INDICATING SOUTHWEST WINDS NEAR 40 KNOTS 3000 FEET AMSL.
WHILE SUPPORTING A GOOD UPSLOPE ENVIRONMENT FOR THE NORTHEAST
MOUNTAINS THROUGH CENTRAL IDAHO PANHANDLE...IT PRESENTS A DILEMMA FOR
THE PALOUSE THROUGH GEG/COE. THERE IS UPPER DIVERGENCE ON THE SOUTH
EDGE OF THE JET STREAM...HOWEVER THERE DOESNT APPEAR TO BE A STRONG
LIFTING MECHANISM OTHER THAN THE UPSLOPE TONIGHT. WILL LIKELY HAVE TO
REDUCE POPS GEG/COE AREAS FOR THE OVERNIGHT WITH SLIGHT ADJUSTMENT
UPWARD IN TEMPERATURES.
SFP ALSO REQUIRES SOME ADJUSTMENT TO INDICATE THE LESSER POPS TONIGHT
SOUTHERN SECTIONS. JR
...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 029/038/032/036/027/034 388843
COE 027/037/032/035/026/032 489843
PUW 030/040/036/039/033/036 358743
LWS 035/045/039/044/035/040 346633
CQV 028/036/034/036/030/033 888844
SPT 027/037/034/036/029/032 9++854
WWP 026/037/034/036/032/033 99++54
EAT 032/040/037/040/033/038 345333
MWH 034/042/039/041/035/038 234433
.OTX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT FOR ID ZNS
1 AND 4 AND WA ZNS 37 AND 42.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 2002
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: 5279158, 5279159, 5279157.