1 heavy snow, 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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 15, 2:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON 230 AM PST MON DEC 15 2003 .SYNOPSIS...A RIDGE WILL SET UP OVER THE INLAND NORTHWEST TODAY BUT WILL BE SHORT LIVED. A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE IN LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. THIS WILL BEGIN A STRETCH OF UNSETTLED WEATHER THAT WILL PERSIST THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...WEAK HIGH PRESSURE IS BUILDING OVER THE INLAND NORTHWEST THIS MORNING AND MOST OF THE REMAINING MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS HAVE ENDED. SKIES CLEARED OVERNIGHT AND TEMPERATURES DROPPED INTO THE TEENS AND 20S. THIS CLEARING ALSO ALLOWED SOME LOW CLOUDS AND PATCHY FOG TO FORM MAINLY IN THE VALLEYS OF THE EASTERN ZONES. EXPECT PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES TODAY WITH TEMPERATURES STAYING MOSTLY IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S. ANOTHER WARM FRONT IS THEN FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE WESTERN ZONES OVERNIGHT. WITH SIGNIFICANT COLD AIR TRAPPED IN THE VALLEYS...MODERATE OVERRUNNING AND GOOD AVAILABLE MOISTURE THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CASCADES SHOULD GET SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY. THEREFORE...WILL ISSUE A SNOW ADVISORY FOR THIS AREA. THE WARM FRONT WILL SPREAD PRECIPITATION NORTH AND EASTWARD THROUGH THE DAY TUESDAY. WITH A LOT OF COLD AIR OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS IT IS POSSIBLE FOR WARNING AMOUNTS TO BE REACHED THERE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT AND HAVE OPTED FOR ISSUING A WINTER STORM WATCH AT THIS TIME. ELSEWHERE...SNOW LEVELS WILL BE RISING SO 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE IN THE MORNING BEFORE MOST AREAS CHANGE TO RAIN. A BIT UNCERTAIN TO QPF/SNOW AMOUNTS FOR THE OKANOGAN VALLEY...THE WENATCHEE AREA AND THE WATERVILLE PLATEAU SO WILL HOLD OFF ON ISSUING ANYTHING FOR THESE AREAS FOR NOW. WARM FRONT WILL PUSH NORTHWARD TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO TUESDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL TAPER OFF THE STEADY RAIN/SNOW TO SCATTERED SHOWERS EXCEPT OVER THE MOUNTAINS OF THE EAST WHERE OROGRAPHICS FAVOR SNOWFALL FOR A BIT LONGER. BY WEDNESDAY ANOTHER RIDGE BEGINS TO BUILD OVER THE REGION AND SHOWERS SHOULD BE TAPERING OFF. CC WEDNESDAY NIGHT THRU SUNDAY...UNSETTLED FORECAST THRU THIS PERIOD PER 00Z GFS. SURFACE LOW PASSAGE AND LATER DEFORMATION ZONE HUNG UP ON NORTHERN BORDER BY THIS RUN KEEPS POPS MAINLY OVER THE NORTH PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA...UNTIL LARGER WAVES MOVE THRU WEST SIDE OF RIDGE INTO THE INLAND NORTHEAST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. NEWER 06Z GFS RUN HAS MOST FEATURES THAT MOVE THRU THIS PERIOD FARTHER SOUTH... MAINLY THE SURFACE LOW TRACK FATHER SOUTH IN BRITISH COLUMBIA ON THURSDAY AND THE LATER DEFORMATION BAND OF PRECIP. 00Z RUN HAS IT OVER THE BC BORDER...LATER RUN HAS IT CLOSER TO OREGON. THEREFORE NOT TOO MUCH CONFIDENCE IN POSITIONING OF THESE FEATURES AND THEIR PASSAGE IN THIS FORECAST PERIOD. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SPOKANE 034 028 037 032 035/ 05 40 60 50 30 COEUR DALENE 035 028 036 031 036/ 05 30 60 50 30 PULLMAN 036 030 040 034 039/ 05 10 40 50 30 LEWISTON 040 033 044 038 043/ 05 10 40 40 30 COLVILLE 035 027 035 029 035/ 00 50 80 60 30 SANDPOINT 033 025 033 030 037/ 10 30 80 80 50 WALLACE 033 025 035 028 037/ 30 20 60 80 50 MOSES LAKE 038 031 040 035 038/ 05 20 40 20 30 WENATCHEE 036 027 035 034 037/ 00 30 40 30 30 OMAK 032 026 035 031 035/ 05 60 80 50 30 && .OTX...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...WINTER STORM WATCH ZONES 1 AND 4 FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. WA...WINTER STORM WATCH ZONE 37 FOR TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. ...SNOW ADVISORY ZONE 42 FOR LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 430 AM PST MON DEC 15 2003 IDZ001-004-WAZ037-161430- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS- 430 AM PST MON DEC 15 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE. .DAY ONE... TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE INLAND NORTHWEST ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT AND MAY BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO THE NORTHEAST WASHINGTON MOUNTAINS AND THE IDAHO PANHANDLE. SEE THE LATEST WINTER STORM WATCH FOR DETAILS. IDZ002-003-026-027-WAZ031>036-038-041-043-044-161430- COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-LEWISTON AREA- LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS- LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-WASHINGTON PALOUSE- MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS- WENATCHEE AREA-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 430 AM PST MON DEC 15 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE. .DAY ONE... TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. WAZ042-161430- EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES- 430 AM PST MON DEC 15 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE. .DAY ONE... TODAY ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE INLAND NORTHWEST TONIGHT AND TUESDAY BRINGING MODERATE SNOWFALL TO THE EAST SLOPES OF THE NORTH CASCADES. SEE THE LATEST SNOW ADVISORY FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MODERATE SNOWFALL WILL CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY BEFORE TAPERING OFF TUESDAY NIGHT. SEE THE LATEST SNOW ADVISORY FOR DETAILS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
During the day on December 15th, 6 inches of snow was reported in the town of Newport.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, December 2003
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: 5330608.