Heavy Snow in Washington, January 22 to 23, 2010

Name: Heavy Snow in Washington, January 22 to 23, 2010
Start: 2010-01-22T23:00
End: 2010-01-23T15:00
Location: Washington

January 22 to 23, 2010 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A moist northwest flow brought heavy snowfall to the Blue Mountains. Snowfall amounts in inches included Touchet SnoTel (10) and Ski Bluewood (10).

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: 1

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.

A moist northwest flow brought heavy snowfall to the Blue Mountains. Snowfall amounts in inches included Touchet SnoTel (10) and Ski Bluewood (10).

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 Jan 22, 10:34 PM PST, 26 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 22, 10:34 PM PST, 26 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 22, 2:35 PM PST, 8 hours 25 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
235 PM PST FRI JAN 22 2010

UPDATED FOR SNOW INFORMATION ON SUNDAY

ORZ041>044-049-050-501>506-WAZ024-026>030-501-502-231415-
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 OF WASHINGTON-
EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
EAST SLOPES OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON-
235 PM PST FRI JAN 22 2010

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

.DAY ONE...REST OF TODAY AND TONIGHT

SNOW
     NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON, GRANDE RONDE VALLEY,
     WALLOWA COUNTY, NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, SOUTHERN
     BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, OCHOCO-JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE FROM SOUTHEAST OREGON ACROSS IDAHO
THROUGH SATURDAY BRINGING SNOW TO EASTERN OREGON AND EXTREME
SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL BE ABOVE 4000 FEET.
NUMEROUS WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT. PLEASE REFER TO
THE LATEST PDXWSWPDT PRODUCT FOR MORE DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY

SNOW SATURDAY
     NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON, GRANDE RONDE VALLEY,
     WALLOWA COUNTY, NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, SOUTHERN
     BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON

SNOW SUNDAY
     EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL CASCADES OF WASHINGTON, EAST SLOPES
     OF THE SOUTHERN CASCADES OF WASHINGTON, KITTITAS VALLEY,
     YAKIMA VALLEY

SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY ENDING FROM SOUTH TO NORTH.
HEAVIEST SNOW WILL BE IN THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS.

ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE AREA LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY
BRINGING RAIN IN THE LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN AND BLUE MOUNTAIN
FOOTHILLS AND SNOW OR A RAIN/SNOW MIX ELSEWHERE.  SEVERAL INCHES OF
SNOW ARE POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL
AND SOUTHERN WASHINGTON CASCADES AND THE KITTITAS AND YAKIMA
VALLEYS.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS LIKELY THROUGH SATURDAY OVER EASTERN OREGON
AND EXTREME SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

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.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Blue Mountains

When: January 22, 11:00 PM PST to January 23, 3:00 PM PST
Where: Northwest Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL
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 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, January 2010

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: 203102.