Washington, 2003

Heavy Snow in Washington, January 22, 2003

January 22, 2003 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

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 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 Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 22, 2:30 AM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 2:30 AM PST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
230 AM PST WED JAN 22 2003

THE NEXT IN A LINE OF WEATHER SYSTEMS IS BEGINNING TO MOVE INTO THE
PENDLETON FORECAST AREA.  RADAR RETURNS ARE NOW EAST OF THE OREGON
CASCADES.  WARM ADVECTION OVER THE REGION HAS INCREASED SNOW
LEVELS.  HOWEVER...SOME COOLER AIR WILL REMAIN TRAPPED AT LOWER
ELEVATIONS.  THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A MIX OF PRECIP...SNOW MAINLY FROM
ELN/HMS NORTHWARD...POCKETS OF SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN WILL BE
POSSIBLE FROM YKM TO PSC TO PDT.  WITH THIS...SNOW AND WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN PLACE FOR THE MORNING.  BY AFTERNOON...THE
WARM ADVECTION WILL SLOWLY MIX DOWN TOWARD THE LOWER TERRAIN TURNING
THE MIX OF PRECIP TO RAIN.  SNOW LEVELS WILL CONTINUE TO RISE DURING
THE AFTERNOON REACHING 5000 TO 6000 FEET.  THE PRECIP WILL END
OVERNIGHT AS THE SYSTEM EXITS THE REGION.  HOWEVER...WITH THE
FRONTAL PASSAGE AND BEHIND THE FRONT...WINDS WILL INCREASE
SIGNIFICANTLY WITH LOCALLY VERY WINDY CONDITIONS EXPECTED OVER THE
BASIN AND FOOTHILLS.  WE SHOULD BE BETWEEN SYSTEMS ON THURSDAY WITH
ANOTHER ONE PROGGED FOR THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY.  MJB.

EXTENDED...PROGRESSIVE PATTERN THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SEVERAL
SYSTEMS MOVING THROUGH.  MOST IMPRESSIVE SYSTEM WILL COME THROUGH ON
SUNDAY. AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM...THE WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL RAISE
SNOW LEVELS (TO AS HIGH AS 7500 FEET). THE TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL
LOWER SNOW LEVELS AGAIN TO AROUND 4000 FEET ON MONDAY. SUNDAY COULD
BE A BREEZY DAY AS WELL...BUT WILL WAIT FOR ANOTHER RUN OR TWO
BEFORE ADDING THAT INTO THE FORECAST. JR

PDT 731  ALW 731  PSC 631  YKM 731

.KPDT... A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THIS MORNING FOR THE EAST
         SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN WASHINGTON CASCADES AND THE KITTITAS
         VALLEY (WASHINGTON ZONES 25 AND 26). A WINTER WEATHER
         ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY
         MORNING FOR THE YAKIMA VALLEY...THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF
         WASHINGTON AND THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
         (WASHINGTON ZONES 27...28 AND 29 AND OREGON ZONE 45).
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 21, 6:44 PM PST, 9 hours 16 minutes before
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-221300-
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED - WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES...
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
645 PM PST TUE JAN 21 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON

.DAY ONE...TUESDAY NIGHT

A WARM FRONT WILL BRING A MIXTURE OF SNOW...SLEET...FREEZING RAIN
AND RAIN TO SOUTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON AND THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
MOUNTAINS IN WASHINGTON AND OREGON TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY
MORNING. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR A MIXTURE OF WINTER PRECIPITATION IN THE
AFOREMENTIONED AREAS. DETAILS ON THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE
IN PDXWSWPDT (WWUS46 KPDT).

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES FOR WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR SOUTH CENTRAL
WASHINGTON AND THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS IN WASHINGTON AND
OREGON. SEE DAY ONE.

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW FOR THURSDAY
THROUGH MONDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, E Yakima

When
January 22, 4:00 AM PST to 11:43 AM PST
Where
E Yakima forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.457, -120.739 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

5.5 inches of snow fell two miles east of Cowiche.

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 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 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: 5338168.