A strong cold front accompanied by low snow levels brought heavy snow to portions of the East Puget Sound Lowlands and the Hood Canal Area zones, mainly above 700 feet.
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 strong cold front accompanied by low snow levels brought heavy snow to portions of the East Puget Sound Lowlands and the Hood Canal Area zones, mainly above 700 feet.
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 13, 2:40 PM PST, 3 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
340 PM PDT TUE MAR 13 2012
.SYNOPSIS...A VIGOROUS FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA
WEDNESDAY...FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY ANOTHER WEATHER SYSTEM WEDNESDAY
NIGHT AND THURSDAY...FOR WET AND OCCASIONALLY WINDY WEATHER AND LOTS
OF SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS. SHOWERY WEATHER...AND SOME SUN BREAKS...
ARE LIKELY THIS WEEKEND.
&&
.SHORT TERM...AFTER A BRIEF LULL IN THE RECENT ACTIVE WEATHER THIS
EVENING...THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF FRONTAL SYSTEMS WILL SPREAD RAIN
ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE AIR MASS WILL BE COLD ENOUGH
FOR PRECIPITATION TO START OUT AS SNOW IN SOME SPOTS BEFORE CHANGING
TO RAIN. MOST AREAS SHOULD SEE AN INCH OR LESS OF ACCUMULATION...
SIMILAR TO THIS MORNING. THE EXCEPTION LOOKS LIKE THE THE FAVORED
UPSLOPE HOOD CANAL AREA WHICH COULD GET HEAVY SNOW FROM ROUGHLY
12Z-18Z BEFORE TURNING OVER TO RAIN. IF HEAVY SNOW DOES OCCUR IN
THIS AREA...THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS SHOULD BE OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN
WITH LESSER AMOUNTS NEAR THE WATER. A WINTER STORM WATCH HAS BEEN
ISSUED FOR A POSSIBLE 2 TO 6 INCHES FOR LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
MORNING. IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS WILL OCCUR IN THE
USUAL SOUTHEAST SUCKER LOCATIONS LATE TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY WITH THE
STRONGEST WINDS WEDNESDAY MORNING. A WIND ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED
FOR THE FOR THE COAST AND NORTH INTERIOR.
ANOTHER STRONG FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE ONSHORE AFTER MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THIS SYSTEM IS WETTER AND WARMER
COMPARED TO THE WEDNESDAY ONE. ANOTHER ROUND OF ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS
IS A GOOD BET WITH SOME SOUTHEAST SUCKER LOCATIONS PERHAPS
APPROACHING HIGH WIND. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN WAFFLING AROUND WITH THE
STRENGTH OF THE WINDS FOR THIS SYSTEM HOWEVER AND THE LATEST RUNS
ARE A BIT WEAKER. A SHOWERY UPPER TROUGH WILL BE OVER THE AREA
THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY.
FOR THE MOUNTAINS...SNOW LEVELS WILL BE FAIRLY LOW ON WEDNESDAY WITH
FRONT NUMBER ONE. HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS...A FOOT
OR MORE OVER THE VOLCANOES AND A LITTLE LESS IN THE PASSES. THE SNOW
WILL EASE A BIT FOR ABOUT A SIX HOUR PERIOD WEDNESDAY EVENING THEN
INCREASE AGAIN THURSDAY MORNING. SNOW LEVELS WILL RISE ON
THURSDAY...PROBABLY ABOVE PASS LEVEL FOR SEVERAL HOURS DURING THE
DAY...BUT HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE AT HIGHER LOCATIONS. THE WINTER
STORM WATCH HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO A WARNING FOR THE WEDNESDAY THROUGH
THURSDAY PERIOD. SCHNEIDER
.LONG TERM...BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF SHOW A SHORT WAVE TROUGH
BRINGING ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN FRIDAY NIGHT. AN UPPER TROUGH WILL
LINGER OVER THE AREA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY FOR A CONTINUED BUT
DECREASING SHOWER THREAT. THE MODELS BEGIN TO DIVERGE ON MONDAY.
THE GFS HAS A DRY RIDGE OVER THE AREA FOLLOWED BY A WET FRONT ON
TUESDAY. THE ECMWF IS ABOUT A DAY SLOWER WITH THIS SCENARIO. FOR
NOW...THE FORECAST IS FAIRLY BROADBRUSHED FOR THIS PERIOD. SCHNEIDER
&&
.HYDROLOGY...THE FRONTS MOVING THROUGH THE AREA WEDNESDAY AND
THURSDAY WILL BRING 2 TO 5 INCHES OF RAINFALL TO THE MOUNTAINS.
HOWEVER...SNOW LEVELS WILL BE LOW ON WEDNESDAY AND MUCH OF THIS
PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS SNOW AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS. SNOW LEVELS
WILL BRIEFLY RISE TO 4000 OR 5000 FEET ON THURSDAY WITH THE SECOND
WETTER FRONT. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION WILL OCCUR OVER THE SOUTH
SLOPES OF THE OLYMPICS. EVEN WITH RELATIVELY LOW SNOW LEVELS DURING
MOST OF THE EVENT...THIS COULD BE ENOUGH TO DRIVE THIS UNIQUELY
FLOOD-PRONE SKOKOMISH RIVER TO FLOOD STAGE ON THURSDAY.
FLOODING IS NOT EXPECTED ON ANY OTHER RIVER IN THE FORECAST AREA
DURING THE NEXT 7 DAYS. SCHNEIDER
&&
.AVIATION...AN ACTIVE PATTERN WILL PERSIST FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. AN
UPPER TROUGH AXIS HAD EXITED INTO ERN WA AND WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE
AWAY. ANOTHER ENERGETIC TROUGH WILL BRUSH BY WRN WA ON WED MORNING.
MDT SW FLOW ALOFT THIS AFTN...BECOMING STRONG ON WED. THE AIR MASS
REMAINS MOIST AND UNSTABLE AT THIS TIME BUT WILL BECOME STABLE BY
WED MORNING. THE AIR MASS WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT NUMEROUS
CONVECTIVE SHOWERS INTO EARLY EVNG...BUT THEN SHOWERS WILL REACH A
RELATIVE LULL FROM ABT 03Z UNTIL THE NEXT FRONT VIGOROUS FRONT
ARRIVES ON WED MORNING. THE WED FRONT WILL BRING RAIN...MIXED WITH
LOWLAND SNOW IN THE MORNING...AND STRONG WINDS ALOFT.
KSEA...CONVECTIVE SHOWER THREAT WILL PERSIST FOR A FEW MORE HOURS
UNTIL ABT 03Z...LEADING TO VARIABLE CIGS AND VSBYS IN PASSING
SHOWERS. LOOKING LIKE A LULL IN SHOWER ACTIVITY FROM ABT 03Z UNTIL
RAIN BEGINS ARND 12Z WED WITH THE NEXT VIGOROUS FRONT. IN ADDITION
TO A FULL DAY OF IFR CIGS AND REDUCED VSBYS IN PRECIP ON WED...WINDS
ALOFT WILL BE STOUT...PEAKING AT THE 020 LEVEL AT NEARLY 50 KNOTS
ARND 18Z WED. MINOR SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF LESS THAN 1 INCH ARE
POSSIBLE ON WED MORNING...BUT AIR TEMPS SHOULD BE A FEW DEGREES
ABOVE FREEZING...MAKING ACCUMULATIONS BRIEF AND FLEETING. HANER
&&
.MARINE...A WARM FRONT WILL LIFT ACROSS THE WATERS EARLY WED
MORNING...BRINGING GALE FORCE WINDS TO EAST AND SOUTHEAST-PRONE
LOCALES. A 985 MB LOW WILL MOVE TO NEAR QUEEN CHARLOTTE SOUND ON THU
MORNING...LEADING TO ANOTHER ROUND OF GALES IN SOUTHEAST-WIND-PRONE
LOCALES...PERHAPS EVEN LOCALLY IN PUGET SOUND. A WEAKENING 990 MB
LOW SHOULD TRACK NE THROUGH THE INTERIOR OF WRN WA LATE FRI
NIGHT...PRECEDED BY NE GRADIENTS...THEN FOLLOWED BY A PUSH OF SW
GRADIENTS. HIGH PRES WILL LEAD TO WEAK GRADIENTS FROM SAT EVNG
THROUGH SUN NIGHT. HANER
&&
.SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE CASCADES AND OLYMPICS WEDNESDAY
THROUGH THURSDAY.
.WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE HOOD CANAL AREA LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
WEDNESDAY MORNING.
.WIND ADVISORY FOR THE COAST AND NORTH INTERIOR LATE TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY.
PZ...GALE WARNING COAST...WEST ENTRANCE...EAST ENTRANCE...
NORTHERN INLAND WATERS...AND ADMIRALTY INLET.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY CENTRAL STRAIT AND PUGET SOUND.
.SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR ROUGH GRAYS HARBOR BAR.
YOU CAN SEE AN ILLUSTRATED VERSION OF THE FORECAST DISCUSSION AT
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLE/GAFD/LATEST_WEBAFD.HTML.
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/SEATTLEPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA
435 PM PDT TUE MAR 13 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0434 PM HAIL 3 E OLYMPIA 47.05N 122.83W
03/13/2012 M0.25 INCH THURSTON WA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
GRUB2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Several NWS spotters reported snow accumulations ranging from 3 to 8 inches in the zone during the warning period between 6 pm Mar 13 and noon Mar 14.
NWS spotters reported snow accumulations of 4 inches and 5 inches in the zone during the warning period.
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: 379419, 379424.