Name: Heavy Snow in Oregon, April 5 to 6, 2003
Start: 2003-04-05T03:00
End: 2003-04-06T12:00
Location: Oregon

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 PQR wrote it up.

Another strong Pacific storm dumped heavy snow in the Cascades. Reported 24 hour accumulations included 13 inches at White River, 12 inches at Timberline, 11 inches at Santiam Pass, 10 inches at Mt Hood Meadows, 9 inches at Government Camp and 8 inches at Bennett Pass.

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 Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 5, 2:30 AM PST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 5, 2:30 AM PST, 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
230 AM PST SAT APR 5 2003

.SYNOPSIS...SHOWERS WILL DECREASE THIS MORNING AS ANOTHER COOL
PACIFIC SYSTEM APPROACHES OFFSHORE...SPREADING RAIN ONTO THE COAST
LATE THIS MORNING AND INLAND THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. SNOW WILL FALL IN
THE MOUNTAINS...LOCALLY HEAVY IN THE CASCADES TONIGHT. THE COLD FRONT
WILL MOVE ONTO THE COAST IN THE EVENING...THROUGH THE INLAND VALLEYS
AROUND MIDNIGHT...AND EAST OF THE CASCADES BY SUNDAY MORNING.
SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED SUNDAY. THE NEXT WARM FRONT WILL
SPREAD SOME RAIN INTO THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE FORECAST AREA LATE
SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. PRECIPITATION MAY DECREASE MONDAY NIGHT AND
TUESDAY MORNING...THEN THE TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL BARREL THROUGH
TUESDAY NIGHT...WITH SHOWERS AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER SYSTEM
APPROACHES FOR A CHANCE OF RAIN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR AND IR SATELLITE
INDICATE THAT SHOWERS STILL LINGER THIS MORNING IN ONSHORE FLOW
THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA. THE NEXT SYSTEM IS RACING ALONG...AND THE
MODELS SHOW PRECIPITATION AND VERTICAL MOTION COMING ONTO THE COAST
AROUND 18Z...AND INLAND INTO THE CASCADES BY 00Z. WILL BUMP UP POPS
AND SPEED TIMING FOR THIS. WE ARE IN THE PRIME LEFT FRONT QUADRANT
OF THE JET AS THIS SYSTEM COMES THROUGH TONIGHT WITH STRONG VERTICAL
MOTION AND AMPLE PRECIPITATION FOR A SNOW ADVISORY IN THE CASCADES.
THE FRONT COMES ONSHORE IN THE EVENING...THROUGH THE PORTLAND AREA
AROUND MIDNIGHT...AND EAST OF THE CASCADES BY SUNDAY MORNING. WILL
HAVE SMALL CRAFT WINDS WITH THIS FRONT. SHOWER ACTIVITY BEHIND THE
FRONT LOOKS TO BE ON THE SCATTERED SIDE SUNDAY.

SHOWERS DIMINISH SUNDAY EVENING...THEN OVERRUNNING FROM THE NEXT WARM
FRONT SPREADS IN ON THE COAST AND IN THE NORTH LATER SUNDAY NIGHT
AND MONDAY. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS LOOK TO BE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE.
FAIRLY STRONG GRADIENT SUPPORTS A POSSIBLE GALE ON THE COAST.

.LONG TERM...LONG RANGE MODELS SUPPORT LIFTING THE WARM FRONT NORTH
MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING WITH POSSIBLE DRYING FROM THE
SOUTH...THEN THE COLD FRONT SWINGS INTO THE COAST LATE TUESDAY AND
THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA TUESDAY NIGHT. SHOWERS LINGER WEDNESDAY.
THEN A LOW SETS UP IN THE SOUTHEAST GULF OF ALASKA THAT GIVES US A
CHANCE OF RAIN THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. TOLLESON

AST ++578 PDX 8+566 SLE 8+566 EUG 8+533

.PQR...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CAPE SHOALWATER WA TO FLORENCE OR.
       SNOW ADVISORY SOUTH WASHINGTON AND NORTH AND CENTRAL OREGON
         CASCADES TONIGHT.

Hazardous weather outlook, Apr 4, 6:00 AM PST, 21 hours before

ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-051430-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
600 AM PST FRI APR 4 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...
NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...
GALE FORCE WINDS ARE EXPECTED ON THE COASTAL WATERS MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER REPORTS ARE NOT NEEDED TODAY

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Oregon Cascades

When: April 5, 3:00 AM PST to April 6, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Northern Oregon Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

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 Oregon in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, April 2003

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: 5351647.