Heavy snow fell in the Eastern Columbia River Gorge near The Dalles, with most of the accumulating snow falling before 8:30 AM where 3-4 inches of snow was reported.
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 episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.
Heavy snow fell in the Eastern Columbia River Gorge near The Dalles, with most of the accumulating snow falling before 8:30 AM where 3-4 inches of snow was reported.
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 Dec 28, 8:45 PM PST, 1 hour 22 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
845 PM PST TUE DEC 28 2004
.SHORT TERM...MANY WEATHER CONCERNS TO DISCUSS FOR THIS EVENING.
SEVERAL HEADLINES NOTED IN THE HEADLINE SECTION AT THE BOTTOM OF
THIS DISCUSSION. WATER VAPOR LOOPS SHOW A SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY OVER
EXTREME SE OREGON...AND DOPPLER RADAR AT BOISE SHOWS A BAND OF
PRECIPITATION OVER HARNEY AND MALHEUR COUNTIES. PREVIOUS MODELS WERE
TOO SLOW WITH THE TRACK OF THIS WAVE...THUS HAVE CHANGED TIMING OF
THE WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN AND THE BLUE
MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS FROM 6 AM AND CHANGED IT TO 3 AM. I HAVE ALSO
ISSUED A WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR WALLOWA COUNTY. LATEST SURFACE
OBSERVATIONS SHOW COLD AIR TRAPPED ACROSS THE WALLOWA AND IMNAHA
RIVER VALLEYS. SEVERAL RAWS STATIONS FROM 4000-6000 FEET ARE IN THE
MID 30S...INDICATING A LAYER OF WARMER AIR ALOFT. PRECIPITATION
WILL BEGIN AS A WINTERY MIX OF FREEZING RAIN...SLEET...AND SNOW
BEFORE CHANGING TO ALL SNOW IN WALLOWA COUNTY. DOPPLER RADAR AT
PENDLETON HAS BEEN SHOWING SOME RETURNS OVER NE OREGON THAT WILL
HELP LIFT THE DENSE FREEZING FOG OVER THE BASIN AND FOOTHILLS. THE
DENSE FOG ADVISORY EXPIRES AT MIDNIGHT WHICH IS A GOOD CALL.
HOWEVER...I AM CONCERNED THAT SOME LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE MAY FALL
OUT OF THE BAND OF CLOUDS. WILL COVER THE SITUATION WITH NOWCAST BUT
MAY NEED TO ISSUE A FREEZING DRIZZLE ADVISORY. THE SNOW ADVISORIES
FOR CENTRAL OREGON AND THE JOHN DAY-OCHOCO HIGHLANDS ARE RIGHT ON
TRACK. ALTHOUGH SNOW MAY FALL A LITTLE EARLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY
FORECAST FOR THE YAKIMA AND KITTITAS VALLEYS...BELIEVE THE HEAVIEST
SNOW WILL FALL IN THE 6 AM-12 PM TIMEFRAME AS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE
SNOW ADVISORY FOR THESE AREAS.
IN A NUTSHELL..MOST OF SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON AND EASTERN OREGON WILL
SEE FREEZING AND/OR FROZEN PRECIPITATION TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
MORNING. SMITH
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PENDLETON (AIRPORT) 031 041 033 041 / 040 060 030 050
WALLA WALLA 031 039 033 039 / 030 060 030 040
TRI-CITIES 028 039 030 040 / 030 060 030 040
YAKIMA 027 037 029 036 / 020 070 030 040
HERMISTON 029 040 030 041 / 030 060 030 040
ELLENSBURG 026 035 028 033 / 010 070 030 040
REDMOND 029 043 028 040 / 070 030 040 060
LA GRANDE 030 041 029 038 / 060 050 030 040
JOHN DAY 032 042 027 040 / 070 060 030 060
THE DALLES 033 041 033 040 / 040 060 030 050
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WALLOWA COUNTY (ZONE 50) THROUGH
10 AM.
SNOW ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL OREGON (ZONE 43) AND THE JOHN DAY
OCHOCO HIGHLANDS (ZONE 48) THROUGH 10 AM.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (ZONE 44)
AND THE BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS (ZONE 45) FROM 3 AM-12 PM
WEDNESDAY
WA....WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (ZONE 28)
AND THE BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS (ZONE 29) FROM 3 AM-12 PM
WEDNESDAY
SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE KITTITAS VALLEY (ZONE 26) AND THE YAKIMA
VALLEY (ZONE 27) FROM 6 AM-12 PM WEDNESDAY.
&&
TI:YYG
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
85HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
920 PM PST TUE DEC 28 2004
ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-291300-
NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-CENTRAL OREGON-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (OR)-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (OR)-BLUE MOUNTAINS-JOHN DAY BASIN-
OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS-GRANDE RONDE VALLEY-WALLOWA COUNTY-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (WA)-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES-KITTITAS VALLEY-YAKIMA VALLEY-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (WA)-FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (WA)-
NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS-
920 PM PST TUE DEC 28 2004
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.
.DAY ONE...TONIGHT
DENSE FOG
YAKIMA VALLEY, FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (WA), LOWER
COLUMBIA BASIN (OR), FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (OR)
WINTER MIX
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (WA), FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (WA),
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (OR), FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS (OR),
WALLOWA COUNTY
SNOW
CENTRAL OREGON, OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS
LOW CLOUDS AND FOG WILL BLANKET MOST OF SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON AND
NORTHEAST OREGON TONIGHT WITH DENSE FOG OVER THE YAKIMA VALLEY...THE
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN...AND THE BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS. CONDITIONS
WILL IMPROVE AFTER MIDNIGHT AS A WEATHER SYSTEM PROVIDES MIXING IN
THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE. A DENSE FOG ADVISORY IS IN
EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT FOR THESE AREAS. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST
PDXNPWPDT WWUS76 KPDT FOR DETAILS. THE WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING
WIDESPREAD SNOW ACROSS CENTRAL OREGON AND THE OCHOCO-JOHN DAY
HIGHLANDS WHERE A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE LIFTING
NORTH...BRINGING A CHANCE OF FREEZING RAIN...RAIN...SNOW...AND SLEET
TO THE COLUMBIA BASIN...BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS...AND WALLOWA COUNTY
LATE TONIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST PDXWSWPDT WWUS46
KPDT FOR DETAILS.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
WINTER MIX WEDNESDAY
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (WA), FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
(WA), LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN (OR), FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
MOUNTAINS (OR)
SNOW WEDNESDAY
KITTITAS VALLEY, YAKIMA VALLEY, CENTRAL OREGON, OCHOCO-JOHN
DAY HIGHLANDS, WALLOWA COUNTY
PRECIPITATION WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF OREGON AND
WASHINGTON EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. WARMER AIR WILL OVERRIDE COLD
AIR TRAPPED OVER THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN...AND BLUE MOUNTAIN
FOOTHILLS RESULTING IN AREAS OF FREEZING RAIN...SLEET...AND
SNOW. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS. THE
WINTERY MIX WILL GRADUALLY CHANGE TO RAIN WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.
PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS SNOW IN THE KITTITAS VALLEY AND THE
YAKIMA VALLEYS...AND A SNOW ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE
AREAS. WIDESPREAD SNOW WILL CHANGE TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE
AFTERNOON. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST PDXWSWPDT WWUS46 KPDT FOR
DETAILS.
THE ACTIVE WINTER WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE END OF
THE WEEK.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY.
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
PROTOTYPE GRAPHICAL FORECASTS OF WEATHER HAZARDS OUT TO SEVEN DAYS
ARE DISPLAYED ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT:
WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/PENDLETON/FORECAST/HWOGRAPHICS/HWOGRAPHICS.PHP
ALL LETTERS IN THE ABOVE URL ARE LOWER CASE...EXCEPT THE G IN
HWOGRAPHICS AND THE G IN HWOGRAPHICS.PHP.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 2004
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: 5429407.