1 extreme cold/wind chill, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 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 May 6, 1:30 AM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 230 AM PDT MON MAY 6 2002 A STRONG NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE TODAY WITH RELATIVELY DRIER AIR THAN ON SUNDAY. AS A RESULT ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL BE CONFINED MAINLY TO THE MOUNTAINOUS ZONES DUE TO OROGRAPHIC LIFT WITH THE HIGHEST CHANCE BEING IN THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS. SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS WILL ALSO REMAIN HIGH ENOUGH FOR SOME LOCALLY BREEZY AREAS TODAY. THEN TONIGHT GRADIENTS RELAX WITH DRY AIR IN PLACE. THIS WILL ALLOW THE SURFACE WINDS TO DE-COUPLE WITH THE WINDS ALOFT ALLOWING FOR STRONG RADIATIONAL COOLING. LOW TEMPS TONIGHT WILL BE CLOSE TO RECORDS IN MANY AREAS AND WILL HIGHLIGHT THIS IN FORECAST WITH HEADLINES FOR NOW AND LET THE DAY SHIFT DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT TO ISSUE A FREEZE WARNING TONIGHT. ON TUESDAY A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL SAG SOUTHWARD AND SETTLE OVER EXTREME NE OREGON AND SE WASHINGTON. CAPES AND OTHER STABILITY INDICES INDICATE POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORMS ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE WILL GO WITH MID TO HIGH CHANCE PRECIP IN MOST ZONES...WITH THE BEST CHANCE AGAIN IN THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS. CONDITIONS BECOME QUIET AGAIN BY LATE TUESDAY NIGHT AS MORE STABLE AIR MOVES INTO THE FORECAST AREA WITH ANOTHER VERY COLD NIGHT AND THEN MOSTLY DRY WEDNESDAY. RSC. EXTENDED...SOME UNCERTAINTY IN THE EXTENDED MODELS AS MRF IS BACKING OFF ON THE IDEA OF ANOTHER WELL DEFINED TROUGH DROPPING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST FRI AND SAT. INSTEAD IT SUGGESTS A MORE DIFFLUENT NORTHWEST FLOW WITH MAIN STORM TRACK AND ENERGY STAYING NORTH OF FORECAST AREA. THIS IS A BIG CHANGE THAT WOULD TEND TOWARDS A DRIER WEATHER PATTERN OVER THE EXTENDED. WILL LEAVE CURRENT EXTENDED FORECAST AS IS AND LET DAY SHIFT EXAMINE ALL THE NEW DAILY EXTENDED MODEL RUNS TO FIND SOME CONSISTENCY AND GO FROM THERE. SOLOMON PDT 224 ALW 224 PSC 113 YKM 112 .KPDT...VCP32/CSR21...OPERATIONAL. .KPDT...NONE.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Area low temperatures reached into the mid 20s to lower 30s. Snowfall was reported down to valley floor.
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, May 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: 5297042.