Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in Washington, February 5 to 7, 2008
Start: 2008-02-05T09:35
End: 2008-02-07T05:00
Location: Washington

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $22,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

There was a brief high wind event that caused no damage on Feb 5th, and a short lived strong wind event late on the 6th and early 7th which caused minor damage. About 4 inches of snow fell over the Hood Canal area on the 6th.

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 Feb 5, 9:00 AM PST, 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 5, 9:00 AM PST, 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
900 AM PST TUE FEB 5 2008

.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP THROUGH THE AREA TODAY.
ANOTHER VIGOROUS FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE REGION
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE LOWLANDS WILL SEE WINDY CONDITIONS WITH EACH
FRONT. SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE MOUNTAINS.

&&

.SHORT TERM...A DEEP SFC LOW MAKES LANDFALL EAST OF THE CHARLOTTES
TODAY AS THE ASSOCIATED FRONT MOVES THRU WRN WA MIDDAY. SOUTHERLY
GALES MOST WATERS TODAY THEN A WLY GALE COASTAL WATERS AND DVLPG IN
THE STRAIT THIS AFTERNOON. MOST OF THE POSTFRONTAL SHOWERS WITH THE
PSCZ THIS EVENING WILL PROBABLY BE WELL OFF INTO THE CASCADES WITH
STRONG WLY FLOW ALOFT...WINDS AT H850 WILL BE WEST 40KTS THRU THE
EVENING TAPERING OFF TO 25 OR 30KTS BY DAYBREAK WED. THE SECOND
FRONTAL SYSTEM APCHG 160W THIS MORNING MAY HAVE MORE MOISTURE THAN
THIS FIRST ONE...IT CERTAINLY LOOKS MORE ORGANIZED. A DEEPENING SFC
LOW IS THRU THE CHARLOTTES WED EVENING. AGAIN WLY GALES OVER THE
COASTAL WATERS AND INTO THE STRAIT...WITH A PSCZ DVLPG BHND THE
FRONT. THIS SECOND FRONTAL SYSTEM LIKE THE ONE TODAY MAY BE WORTH
WIND ADVISORIES  SOME AREAS OF WRN WA WED NITE AND THU MORNING. BOTH
SYSTEMS HAVE WLY FLOW ALOFT AT H850 ARND 45KT BEHIND EACH FROPA FOR
GOOD OROGRAPHIC SNOWFALL. MM

.LONG TERM...PREVIOUSLY...MID LEVEL HEIGHTS BEGIN TO BUILD FRIDAY
AND CONTINUE RIGHT INTO SATURDAY AS A RIDGE BUILD OVER THE WEST
COAST. PRECIPITATION GRADUALLY DIMINISHES FRIDAY NIGHT AS SNOW
LEVELS RISE. THE NEXT FRONT IS EXPECTED TO CROSS THE AREA LATER
SATURDAY...AND WITH RELATIVELY WARM AIR MASS OVER THE REGION WE
COULD END UP WITH RAIN FALLING AT PASS LEVEL WHICH WOULD WEIGHT DOWN
THE SNOW PACK SOME. AFTER THE FRONT PASSES COOLER AIR INFILTRATES
THE REGION BUT NOT QUITE A COOL AS WHAT WE HAVE HAD OF LATE SO
INSTEAD OF SNOW LEVELS 500-1500 FT IT WILL BE MORE LIKE 2000-3000 FT
SUNDAY ONWARD. OVERALL ALL VERY ACTIVE PATTERN WELL INTO NEXT NEXT
WEEK FOR OCCASIONAL BREEZY AND RAINY PERIODS. WINTER CONTINUES.
CERNIGLIA

&&

.AVIATION...CEILINGS MOSTLY IN THE 1500 TO 2500 FOOT RANGE THIS
MORNING. COLD FRONT REACHING COAST AROUND 18Z...KSEA 21Z...CASCADES
00Z. LOCAL CEILINGS DROPPING TO AT OR BELOW 1000 FEET RIGHT WITH AND
BEHIND THE FRONT FOR A FEW HOURS. CONVERGENCE ZONE DEVELOPING NEAR
EAST ENTRANCE OF THE STRAIT BUT WITH THE STRONG FLOW ALOFT EXPECT
CONVERGENCE TO GET PUSHED INTO THE CASCADES TONIGHT. WITH THE STRONG
ONSHORE FLOW BEHIND THE FRONT CEILINGS REMAINING IN THE 1000 TO 2000
FOOT RANGE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. WINDS
AT THE 5000 FOOT LEVEL SOUTHERLY 50 TO 60 KNOTS EASING TO AROUND 30
KNOTS BY 00Z.

AT KSEA...MVFR CEILINGS TO CONTINUING THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS WITH
TEMPO CEILINGS BELOW 1000 FEET 20Z-00Z. SOUTHERLY WIND 10 TO 15 KT
WILL BECOME SOUTHWEST BEHIND TODAYS FRONT...WITH GUSTS OF 20 TO 25
KT WELL INTO THE EVENING HOURS. FELTON

&&

.MARINE...A VIGOROUS PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE FORECAST
AREA THROUGH TONIGHT. A STRONG COLD FRONT SHOULD REACH THE COAST
AROUND 18Z TODAY THEN THE INLAND WATERS BY 21Z...WITH STRONG ONSHORE
FLOW IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT TONIGHT. SOUTHERLY GALES FOR THE
COASTAL WATERS...ENTRANCES TO THE STRAIT...ADMIRALTY INLET...AND
NORTHERN INLAND WATERS. WESTERLY GALES THROUGH THE STRAIT ARE
EXPECTED BEHIND THE FRONT THIS AFTERNOON WITH SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY
WINDS IN THE PUGET SOUND THROUGH TONIGHT. WESTERLY SWELL IN THE 18
TO 20 FOOT RANGE ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE COASTAL WATERS EARLY
WEDNESDAY. ANOTHER SYSTEM MAY BRING ANOTHER POSSIBLE ROUND OF GALES
TO THE WATERS LATE WEDNESDAY INTO EARLY THURSDAY. FELTON

&&

.AVALANCHE...THE STRONG FRONT SHOULD CROSS THE OLYMPICS AND CASCADES
TUESDAY LATE MORNING AND MIDDAY. THIS SHOULD CAUSE STRONG CREST
LEVEL WINDS AND HEAVY SNOWFALL. THIS SHOULD BUILD NEW DEEP DENSER
SNOW LAYERS ON MANY LEE SLOPES. AN AVALANCHE WARNING IS NOW IN
EFFECT FOR THE OLYMPICS AND CASCADES NEAR AND WEST OF THE CREST FOR
TUESDAY LATE MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. FERBER

&&

.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
 .WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE OLYMPICS AND WEST SLOPES OF THE
  CASCADES.
 .WIND ADVISORY FOR THE WESTER STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AND THE
  NW INTERIOR.
 .GALE WARNING ALL WATERS EXCEPT PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL.
 .SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY PUGET SOUND AND HOOD CANAL.
 .SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH BAR CONDITIONS GRAYS HARBOR BAR.

WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE

Event by event

2 high wind, 2 strong wind, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western Strait of Juan de Fuca

When: February 5, 9:35 AM PST to 12:35 PM PST
Where: Western Strait of Juan de Fuca forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Brief high wind caused no reported damage.

High Wind, Admiralty Inlet Area

When: February 5, 4:00 PM PST to 6:00 PM PST
Where: Admiralty Inlet Area forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) measured gust
Reported by: ASOS

Brief high wind caused no reported damage.

Heavy Snow, Hood Canal Area

When: February 6, 5:30 PM PST to 11:30 PM PST
Where: Hood Canal Area forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

About 4 inches of snow fell, mainly above 300 feet, between Shelton and Belfair.

Strong Wind, Southwest Interior

When: February 6, 10:00 PM PST to February 7, 3:00 AM PST
Where: Southwest Interior forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $12,000
Reported by: Newspaper

About 6000 customers lost power after wind knocked out power at two substations near Olympia.

Strong Wind, Western Skagit County

When: February 6, 11:00 PM PST to February 7, 5:00 AM PST
Where: Western Skagit County forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph) estimated gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Newspaper

A road on Samish Island was closed because of downed power lines on the road. Trees fell on a road near Lyman. A tree fell on a home in Birdsview causing minimal damage.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Strong Wind: Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, February 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: 79674, 79675, 79683, 79676, 79677.