Snow fell over much of western Washington. Amounts varied from 1-10 inches with one site in Mount Vernon reporting 16 inches.
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 SEW wrote it up.
Snow fell over much of western Washington. Amounts varied from 1-10 inches with one site in Mount Vernon reporting 16 inches.
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 23, 3:00 AM PST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
300 AM PST WED FEB 23 2011
.SYNOPSIS...A COLD UPPER LOW WILL MOVE SOUTH OVER THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST THROUGH THURSDAY. MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR WILL GIVE SNOW
SHOWERS TO WESTERN WASHINGTON. AN ARCTIC FRONT WILL SHIFT SOUTH
THROUGH WESTERN WASHINGTON TONIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY AS COLD AIR
FLOWS OUT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA DOWN THE FRASER. THURSDAY NIGHT WILL
SEE A HARD FREEZE ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON...WITH TEMPERATURES
SLOWLY MODERATING THROUGH THE WEEKEND. RAIN WILL RETURN FOR THE
LOWLANDS BY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...COLD UPPER TROF WILL BRING SNOW SHOWERS TO WRN WA
TDY...PROBABLY MIXED WITH RAIN OVER THE WATER AND AT THE COAST WITH
LITTLE OR NO ACCUMULATION NEAR SEA LEVEL BUT UP TO ABOUT 3 INCHES
SEEMS A GOOD BET ON THE HILLS...MAYBE A BIT HIGHER THAN THAT IN THE
FOOTHILLS. HIGHS WILL MOSTLY BE IN THE MID AND UPPER 30S TODAY IN
THE LOWLANDS. IT WILL DROP BELOW FREEZING TONIGHT AS THE ONSHORE
FLOW GIVES OUT AND NE FRASER OUTFLOW KICKS IN...WITH AWFULLY COLD
AIR ALOFT IT PROBABLY WONT MATTER WHEN THE NLY WIND REACHES VARIOUS
LOCATIONS...TEMPS OUGHT TO DROP BELOW FREEZING PRETTY QUICK WITH
SNOW AT TIMES OVERNIGHT. THERE MAY BE SOME ENHANCEMENT ALONG
BOUNDARIES. AVERAGE SNOWFALL BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY WILL PROBABLY
RANGE FROM JUST AN INCH OR TWO NEAR PUGET SOUND BELOW ABOUT
300FT...TO PERHAPS SIX INCHES ON THE HIGHER HILLS AND IN SOME OF THE
OUTLYING AREAS. THE FOOTHILLS OF THE OLYMPICS WHERE THE NE FRASER
OUTFLOW HITS MAY SEE MORE...AND IF SNOW STAYED FOCUSED ALONG THE
MODIFIED ARCTIC FRONT TONIGHT...SAY OVER ISLAND AND SNOHOMISH OR
SKAGIT COUNTY...THAT WOULD BE PROBLEMATIC. THE HEAVIEST SNOW IN THE
06Z NAM WAS FROM THE NORTHERN OLYMPIC FOOTHILLS EAST THRU SRN
WHIDBEY..AND CURVING NE THRU WRN SNOHOMISH AND CENTRAL SKAGIT
COUNTY...WITH ARND A FOOT OF SNOW IN THAT AREA. BUT I WOULD WANT TO
SEE THE 12Z MESOSCALE MODELS AND FIX UP THE FCST UP FOR TONIGHT
RATHER THAN GO WITH THE 06Z NAM. THE 00Z MESOSCALE MODELS HAD
SEVERAL GOOD POSSIBILITIES FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW TIL ABOUT 18Z THU
BUT I ELECTED TO KEEP THE FCST MORE BROADLY BRUSHED FOR NOW.
SNOW SHOWERS MAY CONTINUE THRU THU MORNING AND WITH HIGHS COOLER
THURS THE SNOW THAT HAS FALLEN OUGHT TO STICK AROUND. STRONG FRASER
OUTFLOW WILL BEGIN LATER TODAY AND PEAK ON THURSDAY...SO THE
BELLINGHAM AREA OUT THRU THE SAN JUANS WILL BE COLD AND WINDY. THE
UW 4KM WIND GUST FCST HAD WIND GUSTS AT 55KT OVER THE WATER NORTH OF
THE SAN JUANS ON THE 18Z THU PROG...SO A PLACE LIKE WALDRON ISLAND
WILL SEE PUNISHING FRASER OUTFLOW THU. AS THE OUTFLOW PICKS UP THE
AIR WILL DRY...AND FLURRIES WILL END THURSDAY EVENING FOLLOWED BY
CLEARING. EXPECT A HARD FREEZE THU NITE THAT MAY VERY WELL DAMAGE
SOME OF THE EARLY BUDDING PLANTS. THEN TEMPS SLOWLY MODERATE THRU
SAT. 19
.LONG TERM...DRY SATURDAY...THEN AN INCREASING CHANCE OF RAIN THRU
SUNDAY...AND PERIODS OF RAIN WITH TEMPS NEAR NORMAL NEXT WEEK.
SHOULD BE A GOOD SNOW PRODUCING PATTERN FOR THE PASSES. 19
&&
.HYDROLOGY...SNOW LEVELS FALLING TO AROUND SEA LEVEL THROUGH THIS
EVENING...AND COLD THRU THE END OF THE WEEK. A TROUGH DEVELOPING
OFFSHORE EARLY NEXT WEEK COULD WARM TEMPERATURES AND INCREASE THE
RAIN...SO RIVERS MAY START RISING NEXT WEEK BUT FLOODING IS NOT
EXPECTED. FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED ON THE GREEN RIVER DURING THE
NEXT 10 DAYS.
&&
.AVIATION...AN UPPER LOW OVER BRITISH COLUMBIA WILL MOVE TO JUST
OFFSHORE VANCOUVER ISLAND BY THIS AFTERNOON THEN OVER THE COASTAL
WATERS TONIGHT. AT THE SURFACE...OFFSHORE FLOW WILL DEVELOP TODAY
AND TONIGHT AS A MODIFIED ARCTIC FRONT MOVES SOUTH THROUGH WESTERN
WASHINGTON AND HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA.
AIR MOIST AND UNSTABLE.
WIDESPREAD SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE FOR
MUCH OF THE DAY AND INTO TONIGHT AS A MODIFIED ARCTIC BOUNDARY MOVES
SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA.
KSEA...SOUTH/SOUTHEAST WIND 10-14 KNOTS THIS MORNING WILL SWITCH TO
NORTH LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR EARLY EVENING. ACCUMULATING SNOW
EXPECTED TO START AROUND 12Z THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE FOR MOST OF
THE DAY AND INTO TONIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 3 INCHES
POSSIBLE TODAY THEN ANOTHER 1 OR 2 INCHES TONIGHT. SCHNEIDER
&&
.MARINE...GRADIENTS WILL TURN OFFSHORE TODAY AND TONIGHT AS HIGH
PRESSURE BUILDS INTO SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. BY LATE THIS
AFTERNOON OR EVENING...GALE FORCE NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP NORTHERN INLAND WATERS AND OVER THE STRAIT. GALE WARNINGS
HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO COVER THIS.
THE STRONG OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY THEN TAPER
FRIDAY AS THE HIGH OVER SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA WEAKENS AND MOVES
SOUTHEAST. GALE FORCE OR HIGH END SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY OFFSHORE
WINDS WILL CONTINUE ALL WATERS THURSDAY BEFORE EASING ON FRIDAY. THE
LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL TURN ONSHORE THIS WEEKEND. SCHNEIDER
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT.
PZ...GALE WARNING STRAIT AND NORTHERN INLAND WATERS.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY COAST AND ADMIRALTY INLET.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH BAR GRAYS HARBOR BAR.
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE4 heavy snow, 4 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
NWAC station at Paradise received 19 inches snow in 24 hours. NWAC station at Alpental received 12 inches snow in 12 hours.
Betweeen 2 and 9 inches of snow fell. Most school districts in Island county were closed on the 23rd or 24th. There were several accidents reported, none serious. NAS Whidbey had 'limited operations'.
Snowfall amounts ranged from 4 to 9 inches. A few flights were canceled into the Port Angeles airport. Bus service was cut back to hourly from every 1/2 hour. Several vehicles slid off highway 101 and there was a two car collision that killed an 83 year old man. Schools in Sequim closed the next day.
Up to 5 inches of snow fell. Some school districts in Snohomish county were closed on the 23rd or 24th. There were dozens of accidents reported, none serious.
Around 4 inches of snow fell over most of the foothills, however some locations got between 6 and 14 inches. Driving in some locations became extremely difficult.
Snowfall of 4 to 6 inches was common, with Mount Vernon reporting 16 inches. A 30 mile stretch of Interstate 5 from Arlington northward was virtually impassible on the night of the 23rd. Many people abandoned their vehicles. Schools were closed as some buses could not even make it out of the parking lot.
Up to 7 inches of snow fell. Almost every school district in Grays Harbor county was closed on the 24th. There were several accidents reported, none serious.
Up to 5 inches of snow fell. Several school districts closed on the 24th or 25th. There were several accidents reported - two of them on I-5, but none serious.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Snow, Eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca | 2011-02-23 | 83 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 2011
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: 307793, 286252, 286207, 286219, 286228, 286248, 286212, 286216.