A Pacific frontal system brought heavy snow to Mt Baker in the North Cascades.
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.
A Pacific frontal system brought heavy snow to Mt Baker in the North Cascades.
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 Mar 10, 2:50 PM PST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
250 PM PST SAT MAR 10 2012
.SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH WESTERN WASHINGTON
TONIGHT. SHOWERS AND COOLER AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION SUNDAY AS
AN UPPER TROUGH REACHES THE AREA. A RATHER STRONG FRONT WILL MOVE
THROUGH WESTERN WASHINGTON MONDAY MORNING. AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN
WILL CONTINUE THROUGH NEXT WEEK.
&&
.SHORT TERM...COLD FRONT JUST OFF THE COAST THIS AFTERNOON. THE
SYSTEM IS PRETTY WELL OCCLUDED AND THERE IS WIDE AREA OF COLD CU
OFFSHORE THAT WILL PUSH INTO THE REGION LATER TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY
AS THE UPPER TROUGH AND HEIGHT FALLS MOVE OVER WA AND ORE. THIS
FIRST SYSTEM SEEMS WORTH A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY AS THE SNOW LEVEL
WILL DROP TO 1500FT LATE TONIGHT THRU SUNDAY. THE MORE SIGNIFICANT
SYSTEM IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE NEXT UPPER SHORTWAVE TROUGH INDICATED
BY THE GFS TO BE OUT AROUND 50N/150W MIDDAY SUNDAY...AND THE GFS HAS
ABOUT A 125KT JETSTREAM AT 300MB WITH THAT. THIS DEEPENS A 997MB LOW
NEAR 145W TO A 966MB STORM AS IT CROSSES 130W BEFORE DAYBREAK MONDAY
MORNING. THAT PUTS A VERY STRONG SE GRADIENT OVER THE WA COASTAL
WATERS BY THE TIME WHICH SHOULD GIVE STORM FORCE WINDS TO THE
COASTAL WATERS. FOR THE LAND AREAS UP AND DOWN THE WA COAST A HIGH
WIND WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED...THAT ISN'T A GREAT DIRECTION TO VERIFY
HIGH WINDS BUT IT IS AN AWFULLY STRONG FRONT. THIS SOUTHEAST SUCKER
PATTERN FOR FULL GALES OR STORM FORCE WINDS ALSO APPLIES TO AREAS
LIKE THE EAST ENTRANCE TO THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA...AND THE
ADJACENT LAND AREAS...SO THE WATCH INCLUDES ADMIRALTY INLET UP
THROUGH WHIDBEY AND THE SAN JUANS AS WELL. SOUTHEAST SUCKERS ARE
NOTORIOUS FOR NOT PUTTING MUCH WIND INTO THE SEATTLE METRO
AREA...ALTHOUGH WE MAY HAVE TO WATCH THE FOOTHILL AREAS FOR THE
EASTERLY GAP WINDS COMING DOWN THRU THE PASSES. THE GFS SHOWS THE
LOW CENTER MOVING DUE NORTH TO HAIDA GWAII LATER MON. THAT GFS
SCENARIO GIVES A DECENT BURST OF POSSIBLY HIGH WINDS TO THE CLASSIC
SOUTHEAST SUCKER LOCATIONS...BUT THEN IS REALLY ONLY A TYPICAL
BLUSTERY MARCH DAY IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT. THE NAM HAS
CONSISTENTLY BEEN A BIT CLOSER...TAKING A 965MB LOW CENTER FROM 47N
130W AT 5AM MONDAY UP TO NORTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND EARLY MONDAY
AFTERNOON. THAT STILL ONLY MANAGES A PRETTY MODEST SLY PRES GRADIENT
FOR WRN WA SO THE FRONT ITSELF AND THE AREAS PRONE TO STRONG SE
PREFRONTAL WINDS ARE THE SPOTS TO WATCH AS IT STANDS NOW. 19
.LONG TERM...A TROUGHY COOL WET PATTERN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE
WEEK AHEAD. THERE WILL CERTAINLY BE SHOWERS AND BREEZY
PERIODS...PERHAPS SOME DECENT PARTIAL CLEARING BETWEEN WEATHER
SYSTEMS. THE GFS SHOWS WEAK SHORTWAVE RIDGING TUE NITE...A TROUGH
WED...AND A STRONGER TROUGH EMBEDDED IN THE FLOW TOWARD THE END OF
THE WEEK. IN GENERAL 500MB HEIGHTS STAY NEAR OR BELOW 540DAM THROUGH
ABOUT THURSDAY AND THEN FALL OFF FRI THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THIS IS A
VERY GOOD PATTERN FOR SKIERS WHO PREFER THE LACK OF CROWDS IN MARCH
BUT LIKE DEEP SNOW. IT WILL BE PERHAPS A BLUSTERY PATTERN FOR
MARINERS...BUT NOT ATYPICAL FOR MARCH WED-SUN. 19
&&
.HYDROLOGY...FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 7 DAYS.
MCDONNAL
&&
AVIATION...AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL APPROACH THE COAST THIS
EVENING AND MOVE ACROSS WRN WA LATE TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. IN
ADDITION...A SERIES OF SURFACE TROUGHS WILL PUSH ACROSS WRN WA
KEEPING RAIN IN THE FORECAST THROUGH SUNDAY. MODERATE SW FLOW ALOFT
WILL BECOME WLY FLOW ON SUNDAY. MOIST CONDITIONS AND STABLE...EXCEPT
SLIGHT UNSTABLE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. EXPECT RAIN OR NUMEROUS SHOWERS
THROUGH SUNDAY WITH RIDE RANGING CIGS BUT MOSTLY IN THE MVFR
CATEGORY.
KSEA...INTERMITTENT LIGHT RAIN WILL FILL IN TONIGHT AS ANOTHER
SURFACE TROUGH MOVES ACROSS. S/SW WINDS 6-10 KT MAY INCREASE TO SW
WIND 10-12 KT GUSTS 22 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. CIGS IN THE 2-3K
FT RANGE WILL LIKELY FALL TO 1-2K FT AS RAIN INCREASES AFTER 01Z
(5PM). THE PATTERN ON SUNDAY WILL BE MORE SHOWERY WITH CIGS BOUNCING
BETWEEN MVFR AND VFR.
&&
.MARINE...A SURFACE TROUGH CURRENTLY OVER THE COASTAL WATERS WILL
MOVE THROUGH THE INLAND WATERS THIS EVENING. THIS MAY BRING LOW END
GALES TO THE COASTAL WATERS AND SMALL CRAFT WINDS TO SOME OF THE
INTERIOR WATERS NORTH OF PUGET SOUND. ANOTHER WEAKER TRAILING
SURFACE TROUGH WILL KEEP SMALL CRAFT WINDS GOING OVER THE WATERS
THROUGH TONIGHT. A LULL IN WINDS MAY DEVELOP ON SUNDAY.
A 960-965 MB SURFACE LOW WILL DEVELOP LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MOVE
TOWARD NORTHERN VANCOUVER ISLAND WITH THE BEND BACK OCCLUSION
LIFTING NWD CLOSE TO THE WA COASTAL WATERS. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING
THE POTENTIAL FOR STORM FORCE WINDS TO THE COASTAL WATERS AND
POSSIBLY THE WEST ENTRANCE ON MONDAY. COMBINED SEAS WILL RISE
DRAMATICALLY LATE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...LIKELY
EXCEEDING 20 FEET. A STORM WATCH AND GALE WATCH ARE UP FOR PORTIONS
OF THE WATERS ON MONDAY. WINDS WILL SLOWLY EASE MONDAY NIGHT.
&&
.AVALANCHE...DEEP UPPER LOW IN GULF EXPECTED TO SPAWN A SERIES OF
INCREASINGLY STRONG WEATHER SYSTEMS WHICH SHOULD MOVE OVER THE
REGION LATER SATURDAY INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND. FIRST IN
CURRENT SERIES FOCUSED ON NORTHERN CASCADES AND OLYMPICS WHERE 12 TO
16 INCHES OF NEW SNOWFALL AND STRONG WINDS HAVE COMBINED TO PRODUCE
GENERALLY HIGH DANGER ON MOST LEE TERRAIN ABOVE ABOUT 4000 FEET.
WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED TO HIGHLIGHT THESE CURRENT CONDITIONS.
WHILE AN INCREASINGLY UNSTABLE SNOWPACK IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN
THE REMAINDER OF THE CASCADES LATER SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...CONDITIONS
ARE NOT CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO REACH WARNING CRITERIA IN THESE AREAS
UNTIL LATER SUNDAY...AND A WATCH TO THIS EFFECT HAS NOW BEEN ISSUED
TO HIGHLIGHT THESE DEVELOPMENTS AS WELL. ONCE THESE CONDITIONS
DEVELOP IT IS LIKELY THEY WILL PERSIST INTO MONDAY AND BEYOND WHEN
SEVERAL MORE STRONG STORMS AND HEAVY SNOWFALL ARE ANTICIPATED. BAD
TIME TO EXPAND YOUR RISK ACCEPTANCE LEVEL. MOORE
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY OLYMPICS AND CASCADES TIL 4PM
SUNDAY.
HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THE NORTH AND CENTRAL COAST...
THE ADMIRALTY INLET AREA AND THE SAN JUANS FOR LATE SUNDAY
NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON.
PZ...GALE WARNING IN EFFECT FOR THE COASTAL WATERS THROUGH LATE
THIS EVENING.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR THE COASTAL WATERS FROM LATE TONIGHT
THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THE REMAINING WATERS
EXCEPT THE CENTRAL STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA AND PUGET SOUND AND
HOOD CANAL.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH GRAYS HARBOR BAR.
STORM WATCH FOR THE COASTAL WATERS AND THE WEST ENTRANCE TO
THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA ON MONDAY.
GALE WATCH FOR THE INTERIOR WATERS NORTH OF PUGET SOUND ON
MONDAY.
&&
WWW.WEATHER.GOV1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
NWAC station at Mt Baker recorded 12 inches snow in 12 hours ending 4 am Mar 11.
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, March 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: 374056.