Heavy Snow in Washington, January 10, 2007

Name: Heavy Snow in Washington, January 10, 2007
Start: 2007-01-10T09:00
End: 2007-01-10T22:00
Location: Washington

January 10, 2007 · NWS SEW · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

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: $55,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 SEW wrote it up.

A modified arctic front moved slowly south from British Columbia through western Washington January 10th into the early hours of January 11th, bringing heavy snow to many lowland areas from the Puget Sound area northward. Snow amounts varied from a few inches up to 11 inches in Whatcom county. The late afternoon commute on the 10th was very slow, some people ended up walking instead. Many school districts were closed on the 11th.

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 Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 10, 3:30 AM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 10, 3:30 AM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
330 AM PST WED JAN 10 2007...CORRECTED

.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE OVER THE AREA TODAY WHICH WILL
ENHANCE SNOW SHOWERS WITH A POSSIBLE THUNDERSTORM AS WELL. A
MODIFIED ARCTIC FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH THROUGH THE REGION TONIGHT
BRINGING COOLER AIR. DRY MODIFIED ARCTIC AIR WILL REMAIN IN PLACE
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...GRADUALLY MODIFYING THIS WEEKEND.

&&

.SHORT TERM...UPPER LEVEL ENERGY SPINNING ALONG VANCOUVER ISLAND IS
STARTING TO SPREAD SNOW SHOWERS INTO WRN WA EARLY THIS MORNING.
AS EXPECTED...TEMPS HAVE FALLEN OFF TO THE LOW AND MID 30S WITH
MAINLY SNOW SHOWERS EXPECTED...THOUGH A FEW SPOTS COULD MIX WITH
RAIN NEAR THE WATER.  THE NAM-12 HAS TRENDED EVER SO SLIGHTLY NORTH
WITH THE ASSOCIATED SFC LOW/TROUGH...NOW SHOWING IT TO CROSS FAR NRN
WA.  THIS DIFFERS SLIGHTLY FROM THE TRACK OF THE GFS DOWN THE STRAIT
AND SE ACROSS SEATTLE. THE NAM SOLUTION WOULD SHIFT THE DEFORMATION
BAND TO ALONG THE BC/WA BOARDER WHICH IS WHERE HEAVIER SNOW COULD
OCCUR. ELSEWHERE...JUST SNOW SHOWERS WHICH MAY NOT ADD UP TO MUCH
UNLESS CONVERGENCE FORMS LATER ON THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON.
HOWEVER...IF THE GFS IS RIGHT WE COULD SEE SIGNIFICANTLY MORE SNOW
NORTH OF SEATTLE. FOR NOW...I WILL ASSUME A TRACK INTO THE N SOUND
BETWEEN THE TWO MODELS...AND GO CLOSE TO THE GFS QPF VALUES. I WILL
INCLUDE THE EVERETT VICINITY IN THE ADVISORY SINCE THEY WILL
PROBABLY GET A CONVERGENCE ZONE FORMING.  SEATTLE IS TRICKY...BUT
THE ODDS ARE THAT THE BEST CONVERGENCE WILL REMAIN N OF THE
CITY...BUT SNOW SHOWERS STILL AROUND TODAY.

AS FOR SNOW AMOUNTS...SOUTH OF THE KING/SNOHOMISH COUNTY LINE I WILL
MENTION JUST A TRACE TO 1 INCH WITH SNOW SHOWERS THIS MORNING. NORTH
OF THIS...SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE MORE NUMEROUS.  WILL KEEP THE
ADVISORY AS IS...WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES THERE AND MENTION LOCALLY HIGHER
AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

ONCE THIS FEATURE MOVES BY THIS AFTERNOON...WE ARE NOT QUITE DONE.
THE SYSTEM WILL HAVE PULLED ADDITIONAL MOISTURE INTO THE AREA AND
PRIMED WRN WA FOR SNOW SHOWERS AS THE MODIFIED ARCTIC FRONT DRIVES
SWD.  THE NAM-12 HAS BEEN CONSISTENT IN FORMING A LINE OF SNOW
SHOWERS OVER THE  N SOUND BY EARLY EVENING...WHICH IS SHOWN TO DROP
SOUTH INTO SEATTLE...POSSIBLY DURING THE EVENING COMMUTE. THIS
REMAINS HIGHLY UNCERTAIN AS A NUMBER OF THINGS NEED TO LINE UP
PERFECTLY. WILL MENTION A TRACE TO 1 INCH AGAIN FOR THIS EVENING
PERIOD. THE DAY SHIFT CAN DECIDE IF AN ADVISORY IS WARRANTED AS WE
GET CLOSER.

MERCER

.LONG TERM...HIGH PRESSURE WILL PROVIDE DRY CONDITIONS THURSDAY INTO
EARLY NEXT WEEK. A FEW CLOUDS MAY DRIFT OVER THE TOP OF THE RIDGE
SAT...BUT OTHERWISE MOSTLY SUNNY BUT COOL.

&&

.AVIATION...TROF COMING THRU EARLY THIS MORNING...FOR ANOTHER BURST
OF ONSHORE FLOW AND SHOWERS. SNOW SHOWERS LIKELY...CHANCE OF A
THUNDERSTORM...AND BEHIND THE TROF A PSCZ WILL LIKELY SET UP
AGAIN...WHICH SHOULD BE GOOD FOR A COUPLE INCHES OF SNOW. A DAY TO
WATCH THE RADAR. THE CANADIAN AIR ARRIVES TONIGHT...AND AIR MASS
WILL DRY AND GET COLDER...WONT PUT SNOW IN ALONG THE MODIFIED ARCTIC
FRONT TONIGHT BUT WITH AN UPPER LEVEL LOW OVERHEAD A COUPLE INCHES
ARE POSSIBLE WITH THAT TOO. MM

.MARINE...SFC TROF MOVING THRU FOR BLUSTERY CONDITIONS AND SMALL
CRAFT ALL WATERS THIS MORNING. EXPECT NORTHEAST GALE FORCE FRASER
OUTFLOW DVLPG TONIGHT. MM

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
.SNOW ADVISORY NORTHWEST INTERIOR AND EVERETT AND VICINITY THIS
MORNING.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ALL WATERS TIL 10 AM THIS MORNING.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH GRAYS HARBOR BAR.

WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 10, 8:39 AM PST, 21 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
839 AM PST WED JAN 10 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0837 AM     HAIL             FORKS                   47.95N 124.39W
01/10/2007  E0.25 INCH       CLALLAM            WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SNOW ENDED WITH 1 INCH ON GROUND. NOW HAILING.

&&

CHB

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Western Whatcom County

When: January 10, 9:00 AM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where: Western Whatcom County forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: Newspaper

Up to 11 inches of snow fell with the highest amount reported in Ferndale.

Heavy Snow, Western Skagit County

When: January 10, 9:00 AM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where: Western Skagit County forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Newspaper

Up to 4 inches of snow fell with the highest amount reported in Anacortes.

Heavy Snow, San Juan

When: January 10, 9:00 AM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where: San Juan forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 48.531, -123.025 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Up to 9 inches of snow fell with the highest amount reported on Orcas Island.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca

When: January 10, 10:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Newspaper

Up to 6 inches of snow fell with the highest amount reported in Sequim.

Heavy Snow, East Puget Sound Lowlands

When: January 10, 1:00 PM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: East Puget Sound Lowlands forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Newspaper

Up to 10 inches of snow fell with the highest amount reported in Gold Bar.

Heavy Snow, Seattle/Bremerton Area

When: January 10, 2:00 PM PST to 9:00 PM PST
Where: Seattle/Bremerton Area forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Newspaper

Up to 7 inches of snow fell with the highest amount reported was in Renton.

Heavy Snow, Tacoma Area

When: January 10, 3:00 PM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: Tacoma Area forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Newspaper

Up to 8 inches of snow fell with the highest amount reported just north of Tacoma.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, January 2007

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: 10922, 10923, 10924, 10928, 10925, 10926, 10927.