Oregon, 2005

Winter Weather in Oregon, January 7 to 8, 2005

January 7 to 8, 2005 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A combination of snow and blowing snow closed interstate 84 in the Grande Ronde Valley late in the afternoon on the 7th through 1:30 AM on the 8th. The La Grande AWOS reported a peak wind gust of 52 MPH at 9:15 PM PST.

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 happened

The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.

A combination of snow and blowing snow closed interstate 84 in the Grande Ronde Valley late in the afternoon on the 7th through 1:30 AM on the 8th. The La Grande AWOS reported a peak wind gust of 52 MPH at 9:15 PM PST. A trained spotter in the town of Union measured four inches of 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 7, 2:15 PM PST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 2:15 PM PST, 20 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 7, 4:52 AM PST, 9 hours 43 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OREGON
452 AM PST FRI JAN 7 2005

ORZ041>050-WAZ024>030-081300-
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-
452 AM PST FRI JAN 7 2005

RE-TRANSMITTED

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SNOW
     EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE (WA), EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN
     CASCADES, KITTITAS VALLEY, YAKIMA VALLEY, EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER
     GORGE (OR), CENTRAL OREGON, JOHN DAY BASIN, OCHOCO-JOHN DAY
     HIGHLANDS

A STRONG PACIFIC STORM WILL PUSH MOISTURE INTO THE REGION TODAY AND
TONIGHT. THIS COMBINED WITH AN EASTERLY UP SLOPE FLOW AGAINST THE
OREGON AND WASHINGTON CASCADES AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE WILL CREATE
AREAS OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW ALONG AND JUST EAST OF THE CASCADE
RANGE. NUMEROUS SNOW ADVISORIES AND HEAVY SNOW WARNINGS ARE IN
EFFECT THROUGH TONIGHT. PLEASE SEE PRODUCT PDXWSWPDT WWUS46 KPDT
FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.

THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT IS BRINGING THE SNOW TO MUCH OF THE OF
THE FORECAST AREA TODAY AND TONIGHT WILL MOVE OUT OF THE AREA BY
LATE SATURDAY AND BE REPLACED BY A DRIER NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. THIS
WILL BRING COOL BUT DRY WEATHER TO THE REGION THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF
NEXT 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 radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Grand Ronde Valley

When
January 7, 2:35 PM PST to January 8, 1:30 AM PST
Where
Grand Ronde Valley forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
45.310, -118.009 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 2005

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: 5434188.