Heavy Snow in Washington, December 17 to 18, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow in Washington, December 17 to 18, 2008
Start: 2008-12-17T02:00
End: 2008-12-18T20:00
Location: Washington

December 17 to 18, 2008 · NWS PDT · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

Moist Pacific air over running Arctic air at the surface led to heavy snowfall. 5).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 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 PDT wrote it up.

Moist Pacific air over running Arctic air at the surface led to heavy snowfall. Snowfall amounts in inches included Kennewick(5), Finley(6), Dayton(14), Waitsburg(9.5), 3.5 miles northeast of Dallesport(4), White Salmon(7), 9 miles north of Ellensburg(9), 2 miles west southwest of Ellensburg(5), Ski Bluewood(13), Touchet SnoTel(10), Easton Dam(24), Cle Elum(17), Trout Lake(13), Snowden(6.5).

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 Dec 16, 9:00 PM PST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 9:00 PM PST, 5 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
900 PM PST TUE DEC 16 2008

UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION

.UPDATE...AREA IS CURRENTLY UNDER MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES. TEMPERATURES
ACROSS THE REGION ARE APPROACHING OR DROPPING BELOW ZERO. HAVE
UPDATED THE FORECAST TO LOWER MINIMUM TEMPERATURES AS SEVERAL
LOCATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN AND FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
HAD REACHED THEIR FORECAST LOWS. THERE WILL BE SOME LOCATIONS
BREAKING RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT...SUCH AS MEACHAM WITH A
RECORD LOW OF 1 DEGREE. OTHER LOCATIONS WILL BE IN THE FOOTHILLS AND
THE COLUMBIA BASIN. WILL UPDATE THE HWO TO INCLUDE RECORD LOWS FOR
THESE AREAS. NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM IS BEGINNING TO SPREAD MID TO HIGH
LEVEL CLOUDS ACROSS NORTHERN WASHINGTON...AND WILL SPREAD INTO
SOUTHERN WASHINGTON OVERNIGHT. DMH

&&

.AVIATION...06Z TAFS...VFR CONDITIONS WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES WILL
CONTINUE TONIGHT. AN APPROACHING WEATHER SYSTEM WILL INCREASE CLOUD
COVER LATE TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW. CEILINGS WILL LOWER FROM NORTH TO
SOUTH AFTER 18Z UNDER SNOW SHOWERS. MVFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE AT
ALL TAF LOCATIONS EXCEPT KRDM BY THE END OF THE DAY. DMH

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 230 PM PST TUE DEC 16 2008/

SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...CLEAR SKIES MOST OF
TONIGHT WILL ALLOW FOR ANOTHER VERY COLD NIGHT BUT WITH LIGHT WINDS
DONT SEE A CONCERN FOR WIND CHILL. NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM IS DIVING
SOUTH OUT OF WESTERN CANADA AT THIS TIME. THIS SYSTEM WILL DIG A
TROUGH OVER THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LEADING TO A WESTERLY FLOW COMING
OFF THE PACIFIC OCEAN ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS A COLD FRONT
SLOWLY PUSHES SOUTH THROUGH THE FORECAST AREA. EXPECT SNOW TO BEGIN
IN THE WASHINGTON CASCADES EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING THEN SLOWLY WORK
SOUTH ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA DURING THE DAY EVENTUALLY REACHING
CENTRAL OREGON AND THE JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS WEDNESDAY NIGHT. DURATION
OF THIS EVENT WILL BE 24 TO 36 HOURS. THIS WILL BE A SNOW EVENT FOR
EVERYWHERE AS THE COLD AIR MASS REMAINS IN PLACE. SO EXPECTING A
HIGH WATER TO SNOW RATIO OF 15-25 TO 1 RESULTING IN A DRY LIGHT
SNOW. THIS COMBINED WITH THE DURATION WILL HELP BOOST SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS DURING THE EVENT. THE WINTER STORM WATCH CONTINUES FOR
MOST OF THE OREGON ZONES AND I WILL LET THE MID SHIFT EVALUATE THESE
FOR POSSIBLE UPGRADES. I CHANGED THE WATCH OVER TO WARNINGS AND
ADVISORIES FOR ALL MY WASHINGTON ZONES AND SOME OREGON ZONES ALONG
THE WASHINGTON BORDER. SEE LATEST PDXWSWPDT PRODUCT FOR MORE
DETAILS. TRAVEL ON WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY
IMPACTED BY THIS EVENT.

LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT...ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN TO
PERSIST WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR ANOTHER MAJOR WINTER STORM THE SECOND
HALF OF THE WEEKEND. ALTHOUGH TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE A LITTLE
WITH TIME...IT WILL STILL BE PLENTY COLD ENOUGH FOR ALL SNOW
AREAWIDE THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST PERIOD. SNOW WILL LINGER ACROSS
OREGON INTO FRIDAY....BEFORE A BRIEF BREAK ON SATURDAY. THE NEXT
SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE REGION SATURDAY NIGHT. THE LATEST
GFS IS A LITTLE SLOWER THAN PREVIOUS RUNS WITH THIS SYSTEM AND HAVE
TRENDED TOWARD THIS SOLUTION...BUT DID BLEND SOMEWHAT WITH THE
FASTER ECMWF FORECAST. THIS WILL BRING SNOW TO THE CREST SATURDAY
NIGHT AND AREAWIDE BY SUNDAY...WITH SNOW CONTINUING SUNDAY NIGHT.
THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR WINTER HIGHLIGHTS THE SECOND HALF OF THE
WEEKEND WITH THIS STORM AND THIS POTENTIAL WILL BE EVALUATED OVER
THE NEXT FEW DAYS. 78

LONG TERM...MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...ANOTHER UPPER LOW WILL MOVE
ACROSS THE REGION. THIS WILL BRING ADDITIONAL SNOW AS TEMPERATURES
REMAIN WELL BELOW NORMAL.  94

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT -10  20  14  20 /   0  70  80  60
ALW  -6  21  15  20 /   0  70  80  60
PSC  -4  23  15  20 /   0  70  80  30
YKM  -3  20  12  18 /  10  80  80  30
HRI -14  22  14  22 /  10  60  80  50
ELN  -1  18  10  17 /  10  80  80  30
RDM -11  25  15  26 /   0  50  70  70
LGD  -6  20  17  24 /   0  50  80  70
GCD   0  24  16  25 /   0  20  70  70
DLS   6  25  19  25 /   0  70  80  50

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM 7 AM PST WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY
     EVENING FOR ORZ042-043-049-050-504>506.

     WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 PM WEDNESDAY TO 9 PM PST THURSDAY
     FOR ORZ501>503.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 3 PM PST
     THURSDAY FOR ORZ044.

     WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 3 PM PST THURSDAY
     FOR ORZ041.

WA...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 7 AM WEDNESDAY TO 3 PM PST THURSDAY
     FOR WAZ026-501-502.

     WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 1 PM WEDNESDAY TO 9 PM PST THURSDAY
     FOR WAZ029-030.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 3 PM PST
     THURSDAY FOR WAZ027-028.

     WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 10 AM WEDNESDAY TO 3 PM PST THURSDAY
     FOR WAZ024.

&&

TI:RRY
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
84

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 16, 8:15 PM PST, 5 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
815 PM PST TUE DEC 16 2008

UPDATED TO ADD RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES FOR TONIGHT

ORZ041>044-049-050-501>506-WAZ024-026>030-501-502-171415-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF OREGON-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-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF WASHINGTON-KITTITAS VALLEY-
YAKIMA VALLEY-LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF WASHINGTON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON-
NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS-
EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
355 PM PST TUE DEC 16 2008

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

EXTREME COLD AREAWIDE.

AN UNSEASONABLY COLD ARCTIC AIR MASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE FORECAST
AREA PROVIDING BITTERLY COLD TEMPERATURES THROUGH TONIGHT. AS SUCH
TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE WELL BELOW NORMAL WITH WIDESPREAD
LOWS BELOW ZERO TONIGHT. SOME LOCATIONS IN THE COLUMBIA
BASIN...FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS
WILL REACH OR EXCEED RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

SNOW WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AREAWIDE.

SNOW SUNDAY AND MONDAY AREAWIDE.

WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT MONDAY AS
AN ARCTIC AIRMASS REMAINS OVER THE THE REGION. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
WILL APPROACH THE REGION WEDNESDAY AND SPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE
FORECAST AREA WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. NUMEROUS WATCHES...
WARNINGS...AND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT. PLEASE REFER TO PRODUCT
PDXWSWPDT FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS.

ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE INTERIOR NORTHWEST SUNDAY AND
MONDAY BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW. SOME HEAVY SNOW IS
POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED FOR REPORTS OF SNOW ACCUMULATIONS
ON THURSDAY AND AGAIN ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

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/PDT/CURRENTHAZARDS/HWO.HTML

ALL LETTERS IN THE ABOVE URL ARE LOWER CASE...EXCEPT THE H IN
CURRENTHAZARDS.

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, East Slopes of the Central Cascades

When: December 17, 2:00 AM PST to December 18, 8:00 PM PST
Where: East Slopes of the Central Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow, Kittitas Valley

When: December 17, 5:30 AM PST to December 18, 12:00 PM PST
Where: Kittitas Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.791, -120.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, East Slopes of the Southern Cascades

When: December 17, 5:30 AM PST to December 18, 12:00 PM PST
Where: East Slopes of the Southern Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy Snow, Northwest Blue Mountains

When: December 17, 7:00 AM PST to December 18, 8:00 PM PST
Where: Northwest Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 46.264, -118.193 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, East Columbia River Gorge

When: December 17, 5:00 PM PST to December 18, 12:00 PM PST
Where: East Columbia River Gorge forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 45.874, -120.789 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lower Columbia Basin

When: December 17, 10:00 PM PST to December 18, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Lower Columbia Basin forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.220, -119.419 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Blue Mountain Foothills

When: December 17, 10:00 PM PST to December 18, 4:00 PM PST
Where: Blue Mountain Foothills forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.264, -118.193 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, December 2008

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: 141069, 141065, 141070, 141067, 141063, 141057, 141058.