Heavy Rain in Washington, January 29 to 31, 2003

Name: Heavy Rain in Washington, January 29 to 31, 2003
Start: 2003-01-29T12:00
End: 2003-01-31T18:00
Location: Washington

January 29 to 31, 2003 · NWS PQR · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Heavy rains associated with a strong Pacific weather system brought 2 days of heavy rains to the area. 87 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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.

Heavy rains associated with a strong Pacific weather system brought 2 days of heavy rains to the area. Cougar recorded 6.74 inches, Castle Rock 6.31 inches, Merwin Dam 5.81 inches, Brush Prairie 6.33 inches, and Camas 4.87 inches. Many other locations reported amounts in excess of an inch. A landslide in Camas crushed a garage and prompted the evacuation of 5 homes. In Woodland, the swollen Lewis River flooded roads and some homes. No injuries or value of damage was reported.

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 Jan 29, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 8:30 AM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
830 AM PST WED JAN 29 2003

.SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF FRONTAL WAVES WILL MOVE ACROSS OREGON FOR THE
NEXT SEVERAL DAYS BRINGING A VERY WET PATTERN WITH GENERALLY HIGH
SNOW LEVELS TO THE FORECAST AREA. A MUCH COOLER SHOWERY AIR MASS WILL
SPREAD ONSHORE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY WITH SNOW LEVELS BELOW THE
CASCADE PASSES. WEAKER WEATHER SYSTEMS ARE EXPECTED EARLY NEXT WEEK.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM..A WARM FRONT WILL MOVE INLAND ACROSS OREGON THIS MORNING
FOLLOWED BY AN OCCLUDED FRONT MOVING INTO WESTERN OREGON LATER TODAY.
SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP BRIEFLY OVER THE WASHINGTON CASCADES THIS
EVENING BUT WILL RISE AGAIN AHEAD OF THE NEXT WARM FRONT TONIGHT AS
RAIN CONTINUES. THE SERIES OF FRONTAL WAVES INTO OREGON WILL FOCUS
PRECIPITATION OVER THE FORECAST AREA THURSDAY AND FRIDAY BUT THE
CENTER OF MAXIMUM PRECIP WILL MOVE FROM SOUTH TO NORTH AND BACK. THE
CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF THIS WEATHER PATTERN COULD GIVE US SOME HIGHER
QPF AMOUNTS THURSDAY INTO SATURDAY AND A FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK IS
IN EFFECT FOR RISING RIVER LEVELS. MODELS ALSO INDICATE IT COULD GET
PRETTY WINDY ON THE COAST NEAR FRONTAL BOUNDARIES THURSDAY NIGHT AND
FRIDAY AND WILL NEED TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE HIGH WINDS. GALE WINDS
ARE EXPECTED OVER COASTAL WATERS AS SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS
TIGHTEN.

.LONG TERM...NO CHANGE. THE EXTENDED MODELS INDICATE A COOL WET AIR
MASS OVER THE FORECAST AREA WITH WIDESPREAD SHOWERS FRIDAY NIGHT AND
SATURDAY AND THE BEST CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS
IN QUITE AWHILE. MODELS SHOW WARM ADVECTION PRECIPITATION FOR SUNDAY
WITH INCREASING AMPLITUDE IN THE 500 MB PATTERN AFTER THAT...GFS
SHOWS DIRTY RIDGE EFFECT AND MAY BE OVERDONE WITH THE MOISTURE COMING
THROUGH SUCH A MERIDIONAL PATTERN BUT WILL STAY WITH CURRENT FORECAST
OF A DRYING TREND WITH FOG EXCEPT FOR A CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE NORTH
DUE TO THE POSSIBLE DIRTY RIDGE EFFECT. LIKENS

AST 99988 PDX 89988  SLE 89988  EUG 89978

.PQR...GALE WARNING WEDNESDAY CAPE SHOALWATER TO FLORENCE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 29, 6:30 AM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
630 AM PST WED JAN 29 2003

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

* GALE WARNING...............SEE FZUS56 KPQR - CWFPQR FOR DETAILS *

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... THURSDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

A PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE GALE FORCE WIND OVER THE
COASTAL WATERS THROUGH SATURDAY. A SERIES OF FRONTAL WAVES MAY BRING
FLOODING TO THE RIVERS THAT DRAIN THE NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON COAST RANGES TONIGHT THORUGH SATURDAY...SEE PDXESFPQR

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO SKYWARN PROCEDURES.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Clark

When: January 29, 12:00 PM PST to January 31, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Clark County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.779, -122.483 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Cowlitz

When: January 29, 12:00 PM PST to January 31, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Cowlitz County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.193, -122.681 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Lewis

When: January 29, 12:00 PM PST to January 31, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Lewis County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.578, -122.392 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Pacific

When: January 29, 12:00 PM PST to January 31, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Pacific County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.551, -123.779 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Skamania

When: January 29, 12:00 PM PST to January 31, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Skamania County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.023, -121.915 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Wahkiakum

When: January 29, 12:00 PM PST to January 31, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Wahkiakum County, Countywide
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.291, -123.433 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5339472, 5339473, 5339474, 5339475, 5339476, 5339477.