Washington, 2002

Heavy Snow in Washington, March 10 to 11, 2002

March 10 to 11, 2002 · NWS OTX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Moist jet stream winds from the west-southwest were directly pointed into the Cascade mountains for most of the day on March 11, bringing heavy snow to the mountains and the upper reaches of the major valleys. 14".

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.

Moist jet stream winds from the west-southwest were directly pointed into the Cascade mountains for most of the day on March 11, bringing heavy snow to the mountains and the upper reaches of the major valleys. Snowfall totals include: Stevens Pass...25", Holden Village...24", Lake Wenatchee...19.5", and Mazama...14".

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 Mar 10, 9:30 PM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 10, 9:30 PM PST, 30 minutes before
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
930 PM PST SUN MAR 10 2002

HAVE ALREADY SENT OUT AN UPDATED WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE TO ADD THE
PANHANDLE MTNS TO THE WINTER STORM WARNING WITH UPDATED ZONES TO
REFLECT THIS.

SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A LONG FETCH OF STRONG WEST-SOUTHWEST FLOW
ACROSS THE PACIFIC AIMED AT THE NORTHWEST. A WARM FRONT IS LOCATED AT
THE NOSE OF THIS STRONG FLOW...AND IT WILL QUICKLY MOVE ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA TONIGHT. WARM ADVECTION/ISENTROPIC LIFT WITH THIS
FEATURE WILL BE INTENSE...SO DO NOT BELIEVE THERE WILL BE ANY TROUBLE
SQUEEZING OUT PRECIP FOR MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA BY LATER TONIGHT.
REGIONAL RADARS ALREADY SHOWING PRECIP INCREASING WEST OF THE
CASCADES.

AFTER THE WARM FRONT PASSES...WE WILL BE LEFT WITH THE FIRE HOSE
POINTED FOR THE DAY AT WA/NRN ID. THIS WILL BRING IN WARMER AIR WITH
MANY LOWLAND LOCATIONS REACHING THE 50-DEGREE MARK. HOWEVER...THIS
SAME PATTERN WILL ALSO BRING VERY HEAVY MTN SNOWFALL FOR BOTH THE ID
PANHANDLE AND NEAR THE CASCADE CREST. SNOW LEVELS WILL BE NEAR 5000
FEET ON MON AFTN...SO THIS SHOULD MAINLY BE A HEAVY SNOW EVENT FOR
THE HIGHER MTNS. HOWEVER...SNOW IN LOOKOUT PASS IS A GOOD BET. RIDGE
TOPS WINDS WILL ALSO BE QUITE STRONG...SO BLOWING/DRIFTING SNOW WILL
BE A REAL PROBLEM AT THOSE HIGH ELEVATIONS. THE AVALANCHE SENSOR ATOP
MISSION RIDGE (ELEV 6740 FT MSL) IS ALREADY GUSTING TO 47 MPH AND
CONTINUES TO INCREASE. THIS SAME STRONG WESTERLY FLOW WILL CAUSE A
RESPECTABLE RAIN SHADOW OVER THE BASIN.

BY MON NGT...THE UPPER JET AXIS SLIPS SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH
COLDER AIR ALOFT (AND THUS STEEPER LAPSE RATES) ON THE NORTH SIDE OF
THE JET SUPPORTING A MORE SHOWERY/CONVECTIVE REGIME FROM MON NGT
THROUGH WED.   HANER

...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 035/050/034/045/032/043 897555
COE 034/050/033/046/031/043 8+7555
PUW 036/051/035/047/033/045 897555
LWS 042/055/042/052/038/050 676444
CQV 034/050/031/043/033/042 897555
SPT 033/047/035/044/033/042 8+7555
WWP 032/041/038/045/035/041 8+8755
EAT 034/048/035/049/033/049 563233
MWH 038/055/036/054/034/051 553233

.OTX...WINTER STORM WARNING IN ID ZONES 1 AND 4 AND WA ZONE 42 FROM
       LATE TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, W Okanogan/C&w Chelan

When
March 10, 10:00 PM PST to March 11, 6:00 PM PST
Where
W Okanogan/C&w Chelan forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

More

Every storm in Washington in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, 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: 5287246.