Winter Weather, Blue Mountains
- When
- January 28, 6:00 PM PST to January 29, 9:00 AM PST
- Where
- Blue Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Winter Weather in Oregon, January 28 to 29, 2004
Around 11 inches of snow, combined with sleet and freezing rain, fell above 4000 feet in the Blue Mountains. The weight of the snow and ice knocked trees down on highway 204, prompting the Oregon Department of Transportation to close the road at 5:30 am on January 29th.
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 happened
The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.
Around 11 inches of snow, combined with sleet and freezing rain, fell above 4000 feet in the Blue Mountains. The weight of the snow and ice knocked trees down on highway 204, prompting the Oregon Department of Transportation to close the road at 5:30 am on January 29th. The road was open again at 4:45 pm. Night skiing on January 29th was cancelled at the Spout Springs Ski Resort from too much snow.
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 28, 2:45 PM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 28, 2:45 PM PST, 3 hours 15 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON 245M PST WED JAN 28 2004 .SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...STRONG WEST FLOW TO CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT WITH A SLOW NORTHWARD SHIFT IN THE STORM TRACK. TYPICAL POP DISTRIBUTION TO CONTINUE WITH HIGHEST POPS OVER THE MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY ALONG WEST FACING SLOPES...AND LOWER POPS ACROSS THE BASIN AND IN LEE OF THE CASCADES. SNOW LEVELS HAVE RISEN TO NEAR 5000 FEET OVER THE SOUTHERN ZONES AND NEAR 4500 FEET OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA. EXPECT SNOW LEVELS TO REMAIN FAIRLY CONSTANT TONIGHT...THEN RISE AROUND 500 FEET MORE THURSDAY. PRECIP TO BE PERSISTENT TONIGHT INTO THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT ENOUGH TO CONTINUE THE SNOW ADVISORY. AT THIS TIME EXPECT A TOTAL OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 4500 FEET BY 5 AM THURSDAY. COULD SEE CLOSE TO 3 INCHES ABOVE 4500 FEET IN WALLOWA COUNTY...BUT WILL HOLD OFF ON ISSUING AN ADVISORY FOR THAT ZONE FOR NOW. WITH STORM TRACK LIFTING NORTH THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT...LOOK FOR PRECIP AMOUNTS TO DECREASE AND SNOW LEVELS TO BE BETWEEN 5000 AND 5500 FEET. THUS EXPECT THAT WINTER TYPE ADVISORIES WILL NOT BE NEEDED DURING THAT PERIOD. WINDS ALOFT REMAIN SUFFICIENT TO DRIVE BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. A COLD FRONT WILL RACE ACROSS THE PACNW FRIDAY. THIS FRONT WILL PROVIDE ONE LAST PUNCH OF PRECIP...ALONG WITH LOWERING SNOW LEVELS AND WINDY CONDITIONS. SHOULD SEE PRECIP AND WINDS TAPER OFF FRIDAY NIGHT AS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. GKH .LONG TERM...SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AS A SERIES OF SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. THE TIMING OF THESE SYSTEMS IS STILL SOMEWHAT IN QUESTION...AS THE MODELS ARE HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME WITH THEIR SOLUTIONS. ALSO...MODELS ARE SUGGESTING THAT AN OMEGA BLOCK MAY SET UP OFF THE COAST...KEEPING US WITH UNSETTLED WEATHER...BUT QUESTION THE POSITION AND TIMING OF THE BLOCK. THEREFORE...WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OR CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW THROUGH MIDWEEK. PALMER && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... PENDLETON (AIRPORT) 42 55 42 47 / 60 60 30 50 WALLA WALLA 43 54 43 47 / 60 60 30 50 TRI-CITIES 43 54 43 49 / 40 40 20 40 YAKIMA 35 51 35 42 / 40 40 40 50 && .PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 4500 FEET. WA...SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT FOR THE BLUE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 4500 FEET. &&
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 28, 5:00 AM PST, 13 hours before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 500 AM PST WED JAN 28 2004 ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-291300- THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...A VIGOROUS PACIFIC WEATHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA TODAY. THIS SYSTEM BRINGS WITH IT DECENT MOISTURE AND AN IMPRESSIVE JET MAX. THE UPSLOPE PRONE AREAS OF THE SOUTHERN WASHINGTON CASCADES AND THE THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON WILL SEE THE BEST SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. A SNOW ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS. SEE THE DETAILS IN THE LATEST PDXWSWPDT OR WWUS46. VALLEY LOCATIONS WILL REMAIN SHADOWED. SNOW LEVELS WILL HOVER AROUND 4000 FEET TODAY BEFORE RISING TO NEAR 5000 FEET TONIGHT. STRONG MID-LEVEL WINDS WILL MIX TO THE SURFACE TODAY IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN. WINDS OUT OF THE WEST OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS SHOULD BE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THE PROGRESSIVE PATTERN WILL CONTINUE WITH THE UPPER-LEVEL FLOW REMAINS OUT OF THE WEST OFF THE PACIFIC. NUMEROUS WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA EACH BRINGING THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN HIGH THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY...BUT WILL BEGIN TO DROP THEREAFTER. THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE LIKELY. WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jan 28, 3:20 PM PST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 320 PM PST WED JAN 28 2004 .TEST TEST TEST, THIS IS ONLY A TEST. THIS IS NOT AN ACTIVE SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT. ORZ044-282349- LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OR- 320 PM PST WED JAN 28 2004 TEST TEST TEST, THIS IS ONLY A TEST. THIS IS NOT AN ACTIVE SEVERE WEATHER STATEMENT.
Event by event
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Winter Weather
- Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Cold in Illinois, January 28 to 29, 2004
- Heavy Snow in New York, January 28 to 31, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 28, 2004
- Cold in Nebraska, January 28, 2004
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in New York, January 28, 2004
- Winter Storm in New York, January 28, 2004
- Cold in Iowa, January 28, 2004
- Heavy Snow in Connecticut, January 28, 2004
- High Wind in North Carolina, January 28, 2004
- Winter Storm in Vermont, January 28, 2004
- Winter Storm in Michigan, January 28 to 31, 2004
- Winter Storm in Massachusetts, January 28, 2004
More
Every storm in Oregon in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 2004
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: 5383842.