Flood, East Slopes Southern Cascades
- When
- January 31, 1:45 PM PST to 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- East Slopes Southern Cascades forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Flooding in Washington, January 31, 2003
7 feet at 6:00 PM. Minor flooding occurred in West Ellensburg and the Elk Meadows development west of Cle Elum.
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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 PDT wrote it up.
The Yakima River at Easton, with a flood stage of 51.1 feet, peaked at 51.7 feet at 6:00 PM. Minor flooding occurred in West Ellensburg and the Elk Meadows development west of Cle Elum. Water went under a few homes, and also a bedroom which was located in a garage. Erosion to roads, shoulders, and driveways occurred in the Elk Meadows area.
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 31, 8:30 AM PST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 8:30 AM PST, 5 hours 15 minutes before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
830 AM PST FRI JAN 31 2003
CONCERN WILL BE WITH RAIN CHANCES INTO THE WEEKEND ALONG WITH
POTENTIAL RIVER FLOODING.
THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BE QUITE WET WITH A STRONG SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT (110 KT JET STREAM) PUSHING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST.
THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF HEAVY RAINFALL TO THE FORECAST
AREA...ESPECIALLY IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON. RIVERS ARE
ALREADY NEAR OR AT BANKFULL LEVELS SO IT WILL NOT TAKE MUCH TO PUSH
THEM OVER THEIR BANKS. PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS SHOULD AVERAGE BETWEEN
.66 - 1.11 INCHES FROM 12Z TODAY UNTIL 12Z EARLY SATURDAY
MORNING...AND .36 -.58 INCH FROM 12Z TODAY UNTIL 00Z THIS
AFTERNOON. THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO PUSH THE RIVERS AND SMALL
RIVERS AND STREAMS OVER THEIR BANKS...MAINLY IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
AND FOOTHILLS. AS SUCH WILL EXTEND THE SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING
FOR THE BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS...AND THE SMALL STREAM FLOOD
ADVISORY FOR THE SOUTHERN CASCADE EAST SLOPES OF WASHINGTON. IN
ADDITION... MAY NEED TO ISSUE A FLOOD WARNING FOR SOME MAIN STEM
RIVERS IN THE UMATILLA AND WALLA WALLA RIVER BASIN. BUT WILL
COORDINATE WITH THE RIVER FORECAST CENTER AND WAIT FOR UPDATED
PRECIP AMOUNT FORECASTS BEFORE DOING SO. A COLD FRONT SHOULD PUSH
THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA ON SATURDAY...WHICH WILL LOWER THE SNOW
LEVELS DOWN TO AROUND 4500 FEET AND BRING IN SOME DRIER AIR INTO THE
REGION. THIS WILL BRING SOME RELIEF TO THE EXCESSIVE FLOODING
SITUATION TO THE AREA. RAIN IS ALREADY MOVING INTO THE FORECAST
AREA...SO WILL UPDATE FORECAST TO REFLECT CHANGES FOR TODAY. RSC.
PDT +44 ALW +44 PSC 822 YKM 822
.KPDT...SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING FOR THE FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
MOUNTAINS (WAZ029-ORZ045).
...SMALL STREAM FLOOD ADVISORY FOR KLICKITAT...KITTITAS AND
YAKIMA COUNTIES OF WASHINGTON (WAC037-WAC039-WAC077).Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 31, 5:08 AM PST, 8 hours 37 minutes before
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-011300- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 500 AM PST FRI JAN 31 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON .DAY ONE...TODAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. A MOIST WEATHER SYSTEM MOVING FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE RAIN TODAY AND TONIGHT. RUNOFF WILL CONTINUE TO RAISE LEVELS ON RIVERS AND NUMEROUS SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS. MAIN STEM RIVERS ARE NEAR BANKFULL AND SOME FLOODING IS EXPECTED NEAR SMALL CREEKS AND STREAMS. SEE THE SMALL STREAM FLOOD WARNING (PDXFLWPDT) FOR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS FOR MORE INFORMATION. MINOR FLOODING IS EXPECTED ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES AS WELL...SEE THE SMALL STREAM ADVISORY (PDXFLSPDT) FOR MORE INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. FLOODING OF SOME LOWLAND AREAS ALONG CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH SATURDAY. AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS JUST TO THE WEST OF THE AREA...PRECIPITATION CHANCES SHOULD DIMINISH. BUT ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL RACE ACROSS THE AREA MONDAY AND THEN AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY WHICH SHOULD INCREASE PRECIPITATION CHANCES FOR THE REGION. .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.
Event by event
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flood, Kittitas Valley
- When
- January 31, 1:45 PM PST to 11:59 PM PST
- Where
- Kittitas Valley forecast zone
- Property damage
- $3,000
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.791, -120.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flooding in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Heavy Rain in Idaho, January 31, 2003
- Flood in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, January 31, 2003
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 31, 2003
- High Wind in Kansas, January 31, 2003
- Flooding in Oregon, January 31, 2003
- Flood in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Flood in Washington, January 31, 2003
- Cold in Florida, January 31, 2003
- Cold in Alabama, January 31, 2003
- Flood in Idaho, January 31, 2003
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: 5338169, 5338170.