A moist Pacific airmass combined with cold air trapped near the surface to produce heavy snowfall and freezing rain across northern Oregon. 5), Meacham (10), 2 miles northeast of Meacham (14), 4 miles north of Bingham Springs (14).
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
A moist Pacific airmass combined with cold air trapped near the surface to produce heavy snowfall and freezing rain across northern Oregon. Snowfall amounts in inches included High Ridge SnoTel (11), 5 miles west southwest of Lyle, Washington (4), 1 mile west of The Dalles (5.5), Meacham (10), 2 miles northeast of Meacham (14), 4 miles north of Bingham Springs (14). Freezing rain accumulated to around 1/4 inch 5 miles southeast of Stanfield and 1 mile northeast of Hermiston. Interstate 84 was closed for several hours due to ice and snow between LaGrande and Arlington.
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 14, 2:40 PM PST, 4 hours 50 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
240 PM PST MON DEC 14 2009
.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT...THE NEXT PACIFIC STORM
SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY MOVING ONSHORE. THE MAIN PUSH OF THE SYSTEM/S
ENERGY WILL DRIVE INTO BRITISH COLUMBIA...BUT THE WARM FRONT
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE PACNW THROUGH TUESDAY.
THIS IS A WET SYSTEM SO EXPECT MOST LOCATIONS TO SEE DECENT PRECIP
FROM THIS WARM FRONT. SNOW LEVELS WILL GRADUALLY RISE ACROSS OREGON
TONIGHT AND ACROSS WASHINGTON ON TUESDAY. AS SUCH SHOULD SEE SNOW
CHANGE TO RAIN TONIGHT IN CENTRAL AND NORTH-CENTRAL OREGON.
SHALLOW...MODIFIED ARCTIC AIR HAS SPILLED INTO THE COLUMBIA
BASIN...THOUGH IT APPEARS SHALLOW IN THE OREGON PORTION OF THE
BASIN. STILL AS THE SNOW LEVELS RISE COULD SEE WARM AIR NOSING OVER
THE COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE IN THE BASIN. THUS SHOULD SEE SNOW
CHANGE TO SLEET AND/OR FREEZING RAIN OVER THE NEXT 18 HOURS OR
SO...ESPECIALLY IN THE GORGE AND THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN. THE
POTENTIAL FOR FREEZING PRECIP ALONG THE BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS WILL
BE LIMITED AS THE COLD AIR MASS IS SHALLOW AND SHOULD MIX OUT
TONIGHT (IN OREGON FIRST THEN IN WASHINGTON). WILL BE CONTINUING ALL
CURRENT WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES...AND WILL BE ADDING SNOW ADVISORIES
OR SNOW AND ICE ADVISORIES FOR MOST OF THE REMAINING ZONES. BY
TUESDAY NIGHT ONLY EXPECT WINTERY TYPE PRECIP TO LINGER OVER THE
CENTRAL WASHINGTON CASCADE EAST SLOPES...THE YAKIMA VALLEY AND THE
KITTITAS VALLEY. MOST OTHER LOCATIONS SHOULD RAIN WITH SNOW LEVELS
GENERALLY 4500 FEET OR HIGHER AS YET ANOTHER PACIFIC SYSTEM MOVES
THROUGH. WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE LIGHT THOUGH WINDY CONDITIONS CAN
BE EXPECTED IN THE GRANDE RONDE VALLEY THROUGH THE PERIOD. THIS WIND
SHOULD CAUSE THE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF ANY SNOW THAT FALLS. 90
.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. A SERIES OF
DISTURBANCES WILL RACE ACROSS THE TWO STATE AREA KEEPING OUR AREA IN
AN UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN INTO THE WEEKEND. THE STRONGEST STORM
SYSTEM WILL PUSH INTO THE AREA THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. THE
CHALLENGE WILL BE WITH TEMPERATURES. A SW FLOW ALOFT SHOULD KEEP
TEMPS SLIGHTLY ABOVE FREEZING. HOWEVER A WEDGE OF COLD ALONG ALONG
THE EAST SLOPES OF THE WA CASCADES MAY KEEP SNOW IN THE FORECAST IN
THE YAKIMA AND KITTITAS VALLEYS AND IN THE AREA MOUNTAINS. A BRIEF
BREAK IN BETWEEN SYSTEMS EARLY FRIDAY SHOULD GIVE WAY TO A WARM
FRONT AND ANOTHER STORM THAT IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE REGION
FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT WITH CLOUDS AND SHOWERS. 5H/LOW PRESSURE
WILL NEAR THE PACNW SATURDAY KEEPING SHOWERS IN THE FORECAST FOR THE
BEGINNING OF THE WEEKEND AND BREEZY CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE.
SUNDAY AND MONDAY...MODELS NOT IN GOOD AGREEMENT DURING THIS TIME.
MOST CONSISTENT MODELS APPEAR TO HAVE A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER
THE INLAND PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OFF THE
COAST. THIS WOULD LEAD TO A DRY FORECAST FOR THE EAST PORTION OF THE
FORECAST AREA AND PERHAPS SOME PRECIPITATION CLOSER TO THE CASCADES.
&&
.AVIATION...00Z TAFS...AREAS OF MVFR/IFR CIGS/VSBY ARE MOVG INTO THE
REGION FROM THE WEST THIS AFTERNOON AS A STORM SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO
AFFECT THE AREA TONIGHT. WIDESPREAD IFR CONDITIONS ARE LIKELY
TONIGHT IN RAIN...SNOW...SLEET...FREEZING RAIN...DUE TO LOWERING
CIGS/VSBY TONIGHT AND TOMORROW OBSCURING MOUNTAINS.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 30 39 36 38 / 80 80 70 50
ALW 28 40 36 40 / 80 80 70 50
PSC 29 33 32 39 / 80 70 70 40
YKM 22 31 27 36 / 90 60 70 50
HRI 29 36 33 39 / 80 70 70 50
ELN 24 31 27 34 / 90 80 80 60
RDM 33 43 34 44 / 90 70 60 60
LGD 30 39 34 37 / 80 90 60 50
GCD 29 40 33 37 / 80 90 60 50
DLS 30 36 34 40 / 100 80 80 70
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM PST TUESDAY FOR ORZ041.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM PST
TUESDAY FOR ORZ049-050-502-503-506.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON PST
TUESDAY FOR ORZ044-504-505.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM PST
TUESDAY FOR ORZ501.
WA...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM PST TUESDAY FOR WAZ026-501.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM PST TUESDAY FOR WAZ024-502.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 4 PM PST
TUESDAY FOR WAZ030.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON PST
TUESDAY FOR WAZ028.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM PST
TUESDAY FOR WAZ029.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM PST TUESDAY FOR WAZ027.
&&
THREAT INDEX
TUESDAY : RED
WEDNESDAY : YELLOW
THURSDAY : GREEN
GREEN: NONE OR LIMITED NEED FOR WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES.
YELLOW: A FEW WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES POSSIBLE OR IN EFFECT.
RED: NUMEROUS WATCHES, WARNINGS, OR ADVISORIES POSSIBLE OR IN EFFECT.
FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT...
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/PENDLETON
90/97/91/97HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
334 PM PST MON DEC 14 2009
ORZ041>044-049-050-501>506-WAZ024-026>030-501-502-151415-
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-
334 PM PST MON DEC 14 2009
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.
.DAY ONE...TONIGHT
WINTER MIX
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF WASHINGTON, LOWER COLUMBIA
BASIN OF WASHINGTON, FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF
WASHINGTON, EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF OREGON, LOWER
COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON, FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF
OREGON
SNOW
EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON, EAST SLOPES
OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON, KITTITAS VALLEY,
YAKIMA VALLEY, NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS, GRANDE RONDE VALLEY,
WALLOWA COUNTY, NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, SOUTHERN
BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, NORTHERN WHEELER AND SOUTHERN
GILLIAM COUNTIES, JOHN DAY BASIN, OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS
A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL INVADE WASHINGTON AND OREGON THIS
EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY...BRINGING A WINTRY MIX OF SNOW...SLEET
AND FREEZING RAIN EAST OF THE CASCADES. PRECIPITATION WILL DEVELOP
ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CASCADES LATE THIS AFTERNOON THEN WILL
SPREAD OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE REGION TONIGHT. MODERATE TO HEAVY
SNOW IS FORECAST FOR THE EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES AS
WELL AS THE KITTITAS AND YAKIMA VALLEYS...AND WINTER STORM WARNINGS
AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN POSTED FOR THESE AREAS. IN
ADDITION...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR MUCH OF
THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA FOR EITHER SNOW OR A WINTERY MIX. DETAILS
ON THIS SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER EVENT CAN BE FOUND IN THE NWS
PRODUCT PDXWSWPDT.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
WINTER MIX TUESDAY
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF WASHINGTON, LOWER COLUMBIA
BASIN OF WASHINGTON, EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF OREGON,
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON
SNOW TUESDAY
EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON, EAST SLOPES
OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON, KITTITAS VALLEY,
YAKIMA VALLEY, NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS, GRANDE RONDE VALLEY,
WALLOWA COUNTY, NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, SOUTHERN
BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, NORTHERN WHEELER AND SOUTHERN
GILLIAM COUNTIES, JOHN DAY BASIN, OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS
MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW...SLEET...AND FREEZING RAIN WILL CONTINUE FOR
MOST OF THE AREA THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. A WARM FRONT WILL
GRADUALLY WARM THE AIR MASS TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...BUT ICY
CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THE COLUMBIA BASIN THROUGH TUESDAY
AFTERNOON UNTIL THE COLD AIR AT THE SURFACE SCOURS OUT. A SERIES OF
PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEMS WILL BRING LOW ELEVATION RAIN AND A
RAIN/SNOW MIX OVER THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE
PERIOD.
.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/PDT/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 heavy snow, 1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, December 2009
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: 199312, 199311, 199313.