A warm front combined with a strong surface pressure gradient and strong winds aloft produced high winds from Richland west to the Hanford Reservation. Peak wind gusts reported in miles per hour included Hanford EOC (94), 11 miles west southwest of Eltopia (60), 5 miles southwest of Richland (60), 21 miles north northwest of Benton City (58), 13 miles north of Benton City (66), 13 miles north…
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.
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 warm front combined with a strong surface pressure gradient and strong winds aloft produced high winds from Richland west to the Hanford Reservation. Peak wind gusts reported in miles per hour included Hanford EOC (94), 11 miles west southwest of Eltopia (60), 5 miles southwest of Richland (60), 21 miles north northwest of Benton City (58), 13 miles north of Benton City (66), 13 miles north northwest of Richland (58), 23 miles north northwest of Richland (63), 15 miles north northwest of Benton City (58), and 12 miles north of Benton City (72).
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 24, 9:03 PM PST, 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
903 PM PST TUE JAN 24 2012
.SHORT TERM...UPDATE...A WEAK SURFACE LOW MOVING ACROSS EASTERN
WASHINGTON HAS KEPT GRADIENTS TIGHT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN GRANDE RONDE
VALLEY AND OVER DESCHUTES AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES. THUS HAVE EXTENDED
THE WIND ADVISORIES IN THESE AREAS UNTIL 4 AM WEDNESDAY. ALSO
GRADIENTS HAVE TIGHTENED SOME ALONG THE BLUE MOUNTAIN FOOTHILLS AND
HAVE NUDGED WINDS UP IN THESE AREAS THROUGH TONIGHT. ONE LAST SOLID
BAND OF PRECIP CONTINUES TO RACE ACROSS UNION AND WALLOWA COUNTIES
AT THE MOMENT. THIS BAND SHOULD EXIT THESE AREAS DURING THE NEXT
HOUR. THIS SHOULD LEAD TO A DECREASE IN PRECIP IN THE BLUES AND THE
GRANDE RONDE VALLEY, AND EXPECT TO BE ABLE TO DROP THE ADVISORIES IN
THESE AREAS. ELSEWHERE PRECIP CONTINUES TO DECREASE, EXCEPT NEAR THE
CASCADE CREST. THUS WILL CONTINUE WINTER STORM WARNING IN THE
WASHINGTON CASCADE EAST SLOPES. TEMPS HAVE WARMED ACROSS THE MUCH OF
THE BASIN, EXCEPT IN PORTIONS OF THE YAKIMA AND KITTITAS VALLEYS,
NORTHERN BENTON COUNTY AND IN A FEW SPOTS IN THE OREGON LOWER BASIN.
PRECIP SHOULD BE ISOLATED IN THESE AREAS, BUT WILL BE EITHER RAIN OR
A MIX OF RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN UNTIL THE TEMPS IN THE COOLER AREAS
WARM A BIT MORE. HAVE EXTENDED MENTION OF CHANCE OF FREEZING RAIN IN
THE YAKIMA AND KITTITAS VALLEYS. 90
.LONG TERM...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...NO MAJOR WEATHER CONCERNS ARE
ANTICIPATED IN THE EXTENDED PERIOD. HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE AND
ALOFT IS PROGGED TO STRENGTHEN OVER THE PACIFIC NW ON FRIDAY THROUGH
SATURDAY WITH DRY AND STABLE CONDITIONS EXPECTED. THE RIDGE IS
RELATIVELY WEAK AND MAY ALLOW A SHORTWAVE TO RIDE OVER THE RIDGE AND
ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY NIGHT. THAT IS...ACCORDING TO THE
ECMWF. WILL KEEP CHANCE OF SNOW FOR THE EAST SLOPES OF THE
WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN OREGON CASCADES FOR SATURDAY NIGHT AND DRY
ELSEWHERE...BUT THE MENTION OF PRECIPITATION MAY BE REMOVED IF
MODELS MAINTAIN THE STRENGTH OF THE RIDGE SATURDAY NIGHT. THE ECMWF
IS ALSO FASTER THAN THE GFS AND CANADIAN (ABOUT 6 HOURS FASTER) WITH
ANOTHER SHORTWAVE ON SUNDAY. WILL COMPROMISE THE MODEL SOLUTIONS AND
KEEP 20-40 PCT OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT.
CURRENT FORECAST INDICATES A SLIGHT CHANCE TO LOW CHANCE POPS
THROUGH TUESDAY. HOWEVER...LATEST MODEL RUNS ARE HINTING AT A
STRONGER RIDGE AND THE POSSIBILITY OF DRY CONDITIONS EARLY NEXT
WEEK. TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE EXTENDED WILL BE NEAR TO ABOVE
NORMAL.
&&
.AVIATION...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...00Z TAFS...CONDITIONS ARE
IMPROVING OVER ALL THE TAF SITES...BUT ANY SHOWERS MAY LOWER
CIGS/VSBY BELOW VFR. THE THREAT OF FREEZING RAIN HAS ENDED. IT WILL
PREDOMINANTLY BE VFR FROM 03Z-00Z/25TH...ALTHOUGH PATCHY FREEZING
FOG MAY DEVELOP IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. 5-15 KNOT WINDS ARE
EXPECTED TONIGHT. HOWEVER...KRDM AND KBDN MAY OBSERVE GUSTS TO
AROUND 30 KNOTS IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. ON WEDNESDAY...SUSTAINED
WINDS OF 10 TO 20 KNOTS ARE EXPECTED.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 38 47 35 47 / 50 20 60 50
ALW 38 46 38 45 / 50 30 60 40
PSC 32 46 34 45 / 20 10 30 20
YKM 29 42 27 43 / 40 10 30 10
HRI 32 47 34 46 / 30 10 40 20
ELN 28 39 24 37 / 40 10 40 10
RDM 40 50 34 50 / 60 20 50 40
LGD 35 43 31 43 / 80 40 70 60
GCD 35 46 33 46 / 60 20 50 40
DLS 34 45 34 45 / 50 30 60 40
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING ABOVE 4000
FEET FOR THE ORZ502-503.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY ORZ042-509.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY FOR LADD AND PYLES
CANYONS IN THE ORZ049.
FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING ORZ049.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY ORZ050.
WA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING ABOVE 4000
FEET FOR THE WAZ030.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 AM PST WEDNESDAY WAZ520.
&&
THREAT INDEX
WEDNESDAY : GREEN
THURSDAY : GREEN
FRIDAY : 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
90/85/90HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
701 PM PST TUE JAN 24 2012
UPDATE THIS EVENING
ORZ041-042-044-049-050-502-503-505>509-WAZ024-026>030-520-521-
251415-
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-
701 PM PST TUE JAN 24 2012
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST OREGON
AS WELL AS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.
.DAY ONE...THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT
FREEZING RAIN
GRANDE RONDE VALLEY
SNOW
EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES, NORTHWEST BLUE
MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON, WALLOWA COUNTY, NORTHERN BLUE
MOUNTAINS OF OREGON, SOUTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON
STRONG WIND
NORTH CENTRAL OREGON, EAST SLOPES OF THE OREGON CASCADES
A WEATHER SYSTEM CONTINUES TO MOVE ACROSS THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THIS
EVENING. AREAS OF STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE AS WELL AS SOME SNOW IN
THE MOUNTAINS AND POSSIBLE FREEZING RAIN IN THE GRANDE RONDE
VALLEY.
THE FRONT WILL MOVE OUT OF THE REGION TONIGHT WITH IMPROVING
CONDITIONS. HOWEVER...A MOIST WESTERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO BRING
SNOW TO THE EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES THROUGH EARLY
WEDNESDAY MORNING.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW.
EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE NOT ANY SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER EVENTS
EXPECTED YET FOR THE FORECAST AREA BEYOND TONIGHT THE WEATHER
PATTERN IS EXPECTED TO REMAIN ACTIVE WITH FREQUENT WEATHER SYSTEMS
MOVING ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THURSDAY. A STRONGER HIGH PRESSURE
SYSTEM IS THEN EXPECTED TO BUILD OVER THE REGION ON FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY WITH DRY AND CALM CONDITIONS. ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM WILL
THEN MOVE BACK INTO THE REGION ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY.
.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...
SPOTTER ACTIVATION NOT 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
619 PM PST TUE JAN 24 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0515 PM HEAVY SNOW 9 NW SENECA 44.24N 119.09W
01/24/2012 M6.0 INCH GRANT OR TRAINED SPOTTER
6 INCHES OF SNOW TODAY AT 4800 FEET ELEVATION. CURRENT
TEMPERATURE 31.
&&
GKHThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 2012
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: 355028.