Icy roads after a morning to afternoon light snowfall caused numerous accidents in the Yakima, Prosser and Tri Cities areas.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Icy roads after a morning to afternoon light snowfall caused numerous accidents in the Yakima, Prosser and Tri Cities areas.
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 16, 5:41 AM PST, 3 hours 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR 541 AM PST TUE JAN 16 2007 .SHORT TERM...PRESSURE GRADIENTS WERE TIGHTENING AND WINDS WERE INCREASING ACROSS THE GRANDE RONDE REGION. THEREFORE I HAVE UPDATED THE FORECAST TO INCLUDE A WIND ADVISORY FOR THIS AREA TODAY. && .PREV DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT...A DISTURBANCE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE TWO STATE AREA TODAY BRINGING SHOWERS TO THE AREA FROM WEST TO EAST. LIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP OVER THE WASHINGTON CASCADES THIS MORNING AND SPREAD INTO PORTIONS OF THE BASIN BY MIDDAY AND THEN TO THE BLUE MOUNTAIN AREA BY AFTERNOON. THE SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT. MOST OF THE SHOWERS EXIT THE AREA EXCEPT SOME SNOW SHOWERS WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE BLUE AND WALLOWA MOUNTAINS BEFORE A NORTHWESTERLY FLOW BRINGS DRIER AIR TO ALL OF THE REGION WEDNESDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA SHOULD REMAIN BELOW NORMAL AND STRUGGLE TO REACH THE FREEZING MARK. HOWEVER ACROSS CENTRAL OREGON AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES SHOULD CLIMB ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK. .LONG TERM...THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY...UNCERTAINTY IS INCREASING IN MID RANGE MODELS. LATEST RUNS INDICATE UPPER RIDGE TRIES TO REBUILD THURSDAY. RUN TO RUN INCONSISTENCIES BEGIN TO BUILD AS MODELS TRY TO HANDLE STRENGTH AND TRACK OF WAVES THAT MAY FLATTEN (OR RIDE OVER) THE RIDGE FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME CONFIDENCE IS LOW AND WILL LEAVE CURRENT FORECAST AS IS WITH SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE POPS IN THE MOUNTAINS AND MOSTLY DRY IN THE VALLEYS. IF THE PATTERN BECOMES PROGRESSIVE THIS WEEKEND COULD SEE MILDER AIR MIX IN FROM THE PACIFIC ALONG WITH THE INCREASED CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION. && .AVIATION...EASTERLY UPSLOPE WILL CONTINUE MVFR CEILINGS AT KYKM AND KDLS INTO THE EVENING...THEN EXPECT SUBSIDENCE BEHIND THE NEXT FRONT TO SCATTER OUT THESE CEILINGS DURING THE LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. SOME OF THIS UPSLOPE CLOUDINESS MAY WORK SOUTH TO KRDM...OTHERWISE SHOULD BE VFR THERE EXCEPT WITH PASSAGE OF THE FRONT. AREAS OF MVFR CEILINGS ARE AGAIN EXPANDING OVER THE COLUMBIA BASIN UNDER A WEAK INVERSION. THESE CLOUD DECKS WILL AFFECT KPDT...KALW AND KPSC. MAY SEE TEMPORARY IFR CONDITIONS DUE TO LIGHT SNOW AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THIS EVENING AT ALL LOCATIONS. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... PDT 26 21 28 20 / 20 20 10 10 ALW 27 21 28 21 / 20 20 10 0 PSC 26 20 29 19 / 20 20 10 0 YKM 27 17 30 16 / 40 20 10 0 HRI 25 20 29 18 / 20 20 10 0 ELN 24 16 27 14 / 50 20 10 0 RDM 34 11 36 10 / 40 20 10 0 LGD 29 14 27 13 / 20 20 20 10 GCD 26 13 34 15 / 20 20 10 0 DLS 31 24 32 22 / 40 20 10 0 && .PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON FOR ORZ049. WA...NONE. && TI:GGG FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT... WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON 97/90/90
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
532 AM PST TUE JAN 16 2007
ORZ041-WAZ024-501-502-026>030-ORZ042>044-049-050-501>506-171315-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF WASHINGTON-
EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
KITTITAS VALLEY-YAKIMA VALLEY-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF WASHINGTON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON-
NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS-NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-CENTRAL OREGON-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON-GRANDE RONDE VALLEY-WALLOWA COUNTY-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
SOUTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
NORTHERN WHEELER AND SOUTHERN GILLIAM COUNTIES-JOHN DAY BASIN-
OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS-
532 AM PST TUE JAN 16 2007
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
STRONG WIND
GRANDE RONDE VALLEY
A STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GRANDE RONDE VALLEY
WILL ALLOW STRONG...GUSTY WINDS TO PERSIST THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY.
THUS A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT. FOR FURTHER DETAILS PLEASE SEE
PRODUCT PDXNPWPDT.
SNOW
EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON
A DISTURBANCE WILL PRODUCE SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ALONG AND NEAR THE
EAST SLOPES OF WASHINGTON CASCADES CREST REGION.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED.
WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES.
GRAPHICAL FORECASTS OF WEATHER HAZARDS OUT TO SEVEN DAYS
ARE DISPLAYED ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT:
WWW.WRH.NOAA.GOV/PENDLETON/CURRENTHAZARDS/HWO.HTML
ALL LETTERS IN THE ABOVE URL ARE LOWER CASE...EXCEPT THE H IN
CURRENTHAZARDS.The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Multiple vehicle accidents occurred in the Yakima area during a light snowfall.
Multiple accidents occurred during the afternoon during a light snowfall. There were 3 injuries.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, Yakima Valley | 2007-01-16 | 41 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 2007
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: 8884, 8482.