Heavy Snow in Washington, February 18 to 19, 2012

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
347 PM PST SAT FEB 18 2012

UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH
AND PACIFIC MOISTURE WILL KEEP UNSETTLED CONDITIONS OVER THE
FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL
CONTINUE ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL WASHINGTON CASCADES. A
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL PRODUCE OROGRAPHIC LIFT OVER THE NORTHERN
BLUE MOUNTAINS, WHICH WILL GENERATE NUMEROUS SNOW SHOWERS TONIGHT
FOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 10 INCHES IN THE NORTHERN BLUE
MOUNTAINS. THE THE BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS OF WASHINGTON WILL GET 1
TO 4 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION TONIGHT AS WELL. A WINTER STORM
WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS FOR TONIGHT. IN
ADDITION, A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT FOR THE
BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS OF WASHINGTON FOR SNOW.

SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT A WARM FRONT WILL BRING
PRECIPITATION MAINLY AS SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS AND AS RAIN AT LOWER
ELEVATIONS THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.  POLAN

.LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...AN UPPER RIDGE WITH AN AXIS
ROUGHLY ALONG 135W LOOKS TO SLOWLY BUILD TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY.
THIS WOULD RESULT IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BEING UNDER A PERSISTENT
WEST-NORTHWEST TO NORTHWEST FLOW. DISTURBANCES WITHIN THIS FLOW LOOK
TO MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THUS WILL
CONTINUE TO INDICATE SOME CHANCE OF PRECIP OVER MOST OF THE AREA
TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE BEST CHANCES WILL BE OVER THE
MOUNTAINS. MAY SEE A BIT OF A BREAK THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT, BUT
WILL KEEP SOME MENTION OF PRECIP OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. COULD
TURN OUT TO BE DRIER THOUGH. A STRONG DISTURBANCE MAY APPROACH THE
COAST FRIDAY. TIMING AND STRENGTH OF THIS SYSTEM CONTINUES TO BE
RATHER UNCERTAIN, SO WILL CONTINUE THE CURRENT SLIGHT CHANCE TO
CHANCE POP FORECAST. TEMPS WILL BE AT OR ABOVE SEASONAL THROUGH THIS
PERIOD. WINDS MAY BE BREEZY AT TIMES. 90

FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND OREGON FRIDAY NIGHT AND LINGER THROUGH
SATURDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL TREND DOWN DURING THIS
PERIOD...BUT CURRENT MODELS DELAY THE COLDEST AIR UNTIL SUNDAY.
COONFIELD

&&

.AVIATION...00Z TAFS...EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS WITH VARYING AMOUNTS OF
CLOUD COVER INTO SUNDAY MORNING, THEN CLOUDS SHOULD DECREASE.
ISOLATED INSTABILITY SHOWERS NEAR KRDM AND KBDN WILL END SHORTLY
AFTER SUNSET. SLOP OVER SHOWERS NEAR KDLS AND UPSLOPE INDUCED
SHOWERS NEAR KPDT WILL CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING BEFORE ENDING. THE
REMNANTS OF THE UPPER LOW WILL MOVE ACROSS EASTERN WASHINGTON
TONIGHT. THIS SYSTEM WILL CAUSE THE UPSLOPE INDUCED SHOWERS NEAR
KALW TO BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD, AFFECTING KALW AT TIMES UNTIL MID
MORNING SUNDAY. SHOWERS AT KALW WILL START AS RAIN, BUT WILL MIX
WITH SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW SHOWERS MAY BRIEFLY IMPACT CIGS AND
VIS AT ALW. GUSTY SOUTHWEST TO WEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH
OF THE NIGHT AT KPDT, KALW AND KPSC. ELSEWHERE THESE WINDS WILL
LIGHTEN UP DURING THE EVENING. 90

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  30  46  29  43 /  10  20  10  70
ALW  35  47  30  43 /  60  40  10  70
PSC  34  50  31  46 /  10  10   0  50
YKM  27  47  28  47 /  20  10  10  20
HRI  31  49  29  46 /  10  10  10  60
ELN  24  45  26  43 /  20  10  20  30
RDM  18  43  24  47 /  10  10  20  20
LGD  30  42  26  41 /  50  40  10  60
GCD  26  43  25  44 /  40  40  20  30
DLS  30  49  31  48 /  30  20  20  40

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM PST SUNDAY
     ORZ502.

WA...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST SUNDAY ABOVE 1500 FEET FOR
     THE WAZ520.

     WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM PST SUNDAY
     WAZ030.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM PST
     SUNDAY ABOVE 1500 FEET FOR THE WAZ029.

&&

THREAT INDEX
SUNDAY : YELLOW
MONDAY : GREEN
TUESDAY : 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

99/90/76/90

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
306 PM PST SAT FEB 18 2012

UPDATED FOR ADDITIONAL WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES

ORZ041-042-044-049-050-502-503-505>509-WAZ024-026>030-520-521-
191415-
EASTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE OF OREGON-NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON-GRANDE RONDE VALLEY-WALLOWA COUNTY-
NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
SOUTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-JOHN DAY BASIN-OCHOCO-
JOHN DAY HIGHLANDS-
FOOTHILLS OF THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE SOUTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
EAST SLOPES OF THE OREGON CASCADES-
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 WASHINGTON CASCADES-SIMCOE HIGHLANDS-
306 PM PST SAT FEB 18 2012

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

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

SNOW
     EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES, FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE
     MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON, NORTHWEST BLUE MOUNTAINS OF
     WASHINGTON, NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON

AN UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT
BRINGING RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS TO THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS AND
THE WASHINGTON BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS. THESE AREAS WILL SEE HEAVY
SNOW ABOVE 1500 FEET. ALSO HEAVY SNOW AMOUNTS WILL CONTINUE TO
ACCUMULATE OVER THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON CASCADE EAST
SLOPES. A WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN
EFFECT FOR THE ZONES LISTED ABOVE INTO SUNDAY MORNING. PLEASE REFER
TO NWS HAZARD PRODUCT ID PDXNPWPDT FOR MORE DETAILS.

ELSEWHERE THERE WILL BE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS VALLEY RAIN AND
MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

SNOW SUNDAY
     EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES

THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL WASHINGTON
CASCADE EAST SLOPES WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM, AFTER WHICH
SNOW SHOWERS WILL DECREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY. ELSEWHERE
CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE, BUT THERE WILL BE ISOLATED TO SCATTERED
MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH THE DAY. DISTURBANCES WITHIN A
NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL KEEP CONDITIONS UNSETTLED THROUGH THE
COMING WEEK.

.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.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
1108 AM PST SAT FEB 18 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1050 AM     HEAVY SNOW       7 NNW EASTON            47.32N 121.25W
02/18/2012  M10.0 INCH       KITTITAS           WA   TRAINED SPOTTER

            8 INCHES 730 PM TO 8 AM. 2 MORE THIS MORNING.

&&

DC