A potent late season frontal system brought heavy snow to the higher elevations of southwest Washington.
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 PQR wrote it up.
A potent late season frontal system brought heavy snow to the higher elevations of southwest Washington.
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 Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 14, 2:00 AM PST, 2 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
300 AM PDT SAT MAR 14 2009
.SYNOPSIS...THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF FRONTS WILL REACH THE SOUTH
WASHINGTON AND NORTH OREGON COAST EARLY THIS MORNING. A STRONGER
SYSTEM FOLLOWS THIS AFTERNOON...GIVING A GOOD SHOT OF SNOW TO THE
CASCADES. AN EVEN STRONGER SYSTEM WILL IMPACT SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON
AND NORTHWEST OREGON SUNDAY. THIS STORM SYSTEM HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR
HIGH WIND ALONG THE COAST AND SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL OVER THE
COAST...COAST RANGE AND CASCADE FOOTHILLS. THE UNSETTLED WEATHER
PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...THE FIRST OF TWO FRONTS TO AFFECT THE AREA TODAY
CURRENTLY EXTENDS FROM CENTRAL VANCOUVER ISLAND THROUGH 45N 130W AND
SW...WITH PRECIPITATION FINALLY MAKING IT TO NW WA COAST. EXPECT
PRECIPITATION WILL REACH OUR COAST IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS AND SPREAD
INLAND BY SUNRISE.
A STRONGER SECONDARY FRONT WILL MOVE IN THIS AFTERNOON. THE GFS SHOWS
1000-500 MB THICKNESS VALUES IN THE MID TO UPPER 530S THIS AFTERNOON.
NOSE OF 150 KT JET AIMED AT THE NORTH OREGON CASCADES THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. DECENT OROGRAPHIC COMPONENT AND GOOD DYNAMICS WILL YIELD
HIGH-END SNOW ADVISORY AMOUNTS IN THE CASCADES THIS MORNING THROUGH
TONIGHT...AND WILL CONTINUE THE SNOW ADVISORY FOR THE CASCADES.
OF MORE CONCERN IS THE SUNDAY SYSTEM. GFS/ECMWF/CANADIAN CONTINUE IN
GENERAL AGREEMENT WINDING UP A LOW OUT AROUND 45N 130W 12Z SUN. THE
MODELS DEEPEN IT TO AROUND 985 MB 18Z SUN AND TRACK IT TO NEAR
VANCOUVER ISLAND 00Z MON. THIS LOOKS LIKE A BORDERLINE CASE FOR HIGH
WINDS ALONG THE HEADLANDS...HOWEVER THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR HIGH
WIND ALONG THE COAST AND POSSIBLY THE COAST RANGE...WILL HAVE TO
WATCH THIS CLOSELY.
THE 12Z GFS SHOWS SOME WARM ADVECTION SUN MORNING...PUSHING THICKNESS
VALUES INTO THE LOW 540S...WHICH WOULD PUT SNOW NEAR PASS LEVELS. ANY
SLIGHT DEVIATION IN THE JET LOCATION WILL HAVE A BIG INFLUENCE IN
SNOW LEVELS. THICKNESSES ARE FORECAST TO DROP INTO THE 530S SUN
AFTERNOON...AND INTO THE 520S SUN NIGHT. THE CASCADES COULD GET A
GOOD SHOT OF SNOW SUN AFTERNOON THROUGH SUN EVENING. IT ALL DEPENDS
ON JET LOCATION. A COOL AND SHOWERY PATTERN RESIDES OVER THE FORECAST
AREA MON. THE GFS SHOWS 850 MB WIND OF 60 KT OVER THE N COAST RANGE.
STRONG ZONAL JET AIMED DIRECTLY AT NRN OREGON SUN COMBINED WITH
IMPRESSIVE OROGRAPHIC FLOW INTO THE COAST RANGE AND CASCADES WILL
RESULT IN SUBSTANTIAL QPF FROM 12Z SUN THROUGH AT LEAST 00Z MON.
LIKENS
.LONG TERM...NO CHANGES. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...MODELS
CONTINUE TO SUGGEST A VERY WET EXTENDED AS A SERIES OF SYSTEMS MOVE
INTO THE AREA. ZONAL FLOW CONTINUES FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD
WITH 20 TO 30 PERCENT HIGHER POPS THAN CLIMO. MODELS IN FAIR
AGREEMENT BEFORE ENSEMBLES BEGIN TO DECAY RAPIDLY ON FRIDAY. WOLFE
&&
.AVIATION...WEAKENING FRONT APPROACHING...WITH MOSTLY VFR CONDITIONS
EXPECTED THIS AM. WILL SEE FEW POCKETS OF MVFR...MAINLY ALONG THE
COAST INTO THE COAST MTNS. AS NEXT FRONT ARRIVES LATE TODAY...WILL
SEE MORE SOLID AREAS OF RAIN...WITH MVFR INCREASING ACROSS ENTIRE
REGION. NOT MUCH IMPROVEMENT TONIGHT...BUT WILL SEE BREAKS IN RAIN.
NOT MUCH CHANGE SUNDAY...WITH PLENTY OF LOW VFR AND MVFR CONDITIONS.
WILL HAVE TO WATCH FOR S WINDS GUSTING 35 TO 40 KTS ON COAST.
KPDX AND APPROACHES...VFR CONDITIONS THIS AM...BUT EXPECT
INCREASING MVFR CEILINGS AFTER 20Z...LASTING WELL INTO TONIGHT.
&&
.MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WINDS EXPECTED TODAY...WITH WEAKENING
FRONT OVER THE COASTAL WATERS THIS AM. NEXT FRONT THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING BRINGS ANOTHER ROUND OF 20 TO 30 KT WINDS...BUT NO GALES.
BRIEF LULL TONIGHT...BUT APPEARS SOLID GALE FORCE WINDS DEVELOPING
ON SUN OVER THE CENTRAL COASTAL WATERS EARLY...SPREADING N BY NOON.
WILL ALSO HAVE TO DEAL WITH BUILDING SEAS. SHOULD GET ABOVE 10 FT
EARLY THIS EVENING...WITH GRADUAL BUILDUP TONIGHT AND SUN. WITH GALES
ON
SUN...COMBINED SEAS SHOULD BUILD TO NEAR 20 FT.&&
.PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR/WA...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WINDS FROM CAPE SHOALWATER TO
FLORENCE TODAY AND SUNDAY.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS FROM CAPE SHOALWATER
TO FLORENCE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH COLUMBIA BAR THIS AM AND AGAIN
THIS EVENING.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW ALL CASCADES THIS MORNING
THROUGH SUN MORNING.
&&
MORE WEATHER INFORMATION ONLINE AT...
Http://weather.gov/portland
THIS DISCUSSION IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FROM
THE CASCADE CREST TO 60 NAUTICAL MILES OFFSHORE. THE AREA IS COMMONLY
REFERRED TO AS THE FORECAST AREA.1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Snow totals for this event include: 29 inches at the June Lake SNOTEL; 24 inches at the Surprise Lakes SNOTEL; 29 inches at the Spencer Meadows SNOTEL.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, March 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: 160948.