Light snow started to fall over the Washington Palouse during the late evening hours of December 12th. Light slushy accumulations along Highway 195 created slick driving conditions.
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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 OTX wrote it up.
Light snow started to fall over the Washington Palouse during the late evening hours of December 12th. Light slushy accumulations along Highway 195 created slick driving conditions. The combination of icy roads and excessive speeds led to a three vehicle accident and five injuries. Observation platforms near the accident only measured between a trace and one hundredth by the time of the collision and it is unclear if roads were already icy from antecedent moisture re-freezing.
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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 3:25 PM PST, 5 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION 325 PM PST Thu Dec 12 2013 .SYNOPSIS... A storm system will bring a chance for light snow across the majority of eastern Washington and north Idaho tonight and Friday. A few inches of snow will be possible across portions of the Idaho Panhandle. Another weak storm system will arrive on Saturday with light snow accumulations mainly over the northeast Washington mountains and Idaho Panhandle. Temperatures will continue to moderate toward normal or slightly above normal for the next week. && .DISCUSSION... Tonight through Friday: A weak storm system will pass through the Inland NW tonight and Friday. Light snow will impact the Cascade Passes, Idaho Panhandle and portions of far Ern WA. The best chance for a few inches of snow will be in the Blue Mtns and Central Panhandle Mtns of Idaho mainly south of I-90 in addition to the Cascade Crest. Other portions of Ern WA and Nrn will generally be in the one inch or lower range. The system will also bring a slight chance for a wintry mix of snow and sleet (perhaps freezing rain) across the lower Columbia Basin. Precipitation in this form would be brief but could bring the potential for a glaze of ice. Per 12z guidance...the threat for freezing rain/sleet is lower than previous model runs would have suggested and snow looks to be a more dominate p-type. As the midlevel wave departs Friday...moisture and weak ascent within the lower-levels of the atmosphere will keep low clouds. flurries, and patchy freezing drizzle in the forecast through much of Friday for portions of Ern WA and Nrn ID. Model initialization is plausible via satellite extrapolation. This reveals the trof of low pressure crossing 130W as of 1PM. The trof will cross into Western WA late this afternoon then across Ern WA and Nrn ID overnight. The strongest dynamics with this system will swing inland across Oregon/California and most locations will receive less than a tenth of an inch of liquid from this system over the 12 hour period from 00-12z Friday. The NAM has backed off considerably from its wet runs yesterday but still remains on the wet side of guidance and the GEM/ECMWF/GFS continue to be preferred. Light snow will move into the Cascades late this afternoon then spread into Ern WA and Nrn ID this evening and overnight. There is decent chance that the Wenatchee Area...Okanogan Valley...and portions of the Western Basin receive little to no precipitation from this event. Trace amounts will also be possible across the northern mountains. Consequently...the relatively highest pcpn amts will center along an axis from the Blue Mtns to the Central Panhandle Mtns. There is some uncertainty along the outer rims of this axis whether snow amounts will be an inch or just a trace (dusting) including Spokane-CDA, Sandpoint, Ritzville, Lewiston, and Winchester. A second concern will be potential for icing. The initial threat for sleet and freezing rain with the frontal passage has decreased somewhat with locations between the Gorge and Tri-Cities now most favored. We have maintained a small chance for extreme southern Adams, Grant, and sw Whitman Counties but soundings would support sleet versus freezing rain with the best chance coming near the end of the pcpn threat. What could turn out to be a bigger issue will be low stratus Friday and Friday night. NAM/GFS generally agree on low-level moisture lingering across a majority of far Ern WA and Nrn ID Friday. The 285K isentropic surface which captures this layer well also shows light upglide throughout the day. Time-height plots reveal the weak omega and saturation to take place within 0C to -10C which would support a combination of ice and supercooled water droplets. With forecast temperatures expected to remain below freezing for most locations...this could result in light icing if freezing drizzle were to be dominate. Typically, in these patterns...the pcpn is spotty and non- uniform leading to lower confidence exactly where to place the highest chances. /sb Friday night through Sunday...In the wake of the wave passage tonight and Friday an upper level ridge will re-assert over the region. This ridge will be relatively weak and flat and subject to being flattened by a few transient waves during the weekend. Models are in good agreement in timing a weak to moderate strength upper level wave transiting the forecast area during the day Saturday. The NAM is a stronger outlier solution compared to the GFS and ECMWF but timing is similar no matter which model is used. Dynamic support aloft is weak to moderate...and moist isentropic ascent on the mid level warm frontal component of this wave will probably be adequate to generate some light accumulations over the northeast mountains and Idaho Panhandle...but there is no surface organization or frontal structure to lead to any confidence for a significant snow event. The trailing cold front passage on or about Saturday evening appears to shear out and run out of steam as it passes through the Cascades. The only potentially significant winter weather threat over the next 2 days will be the potential for freezing drizzle in the northern basin and northeast valleys Friday night and early Saturday morning with model soundings hinting at a low level layer of supercooled water during the morning hours. By Sunday a semi-moist zonal regime takes over with the polar storm track to the north over British Columbia. This is traditionally a dry pattern (albeit with considerable mid and high clouds streaming off the Cascades possible) fro the basin zones...with a continuing chance of snow showers in the northeast and Idaho Panhandle mountains. The good news with this pattern and the associated mixing it will produce will be the moderating temperatures with day time highs by Saturday potentially recovering to slightly above normal...with a better likelihood of high temperatures of 2 to 5 degrees above normal in valley/basin locations by Sunday afternoon. /Fugazzi Sunday night through Thursday...Flat ridge with cluttered zonal flow fluxing through it marks this forecast interval through Wednesday until longwave ridging amplifies with axis placement down from the Gulf of Alaska which transitions the flow over Washington to more of a northwest to southeast oriented one. Since cold air is pretty much gone at this point at lower levels a general snow-shadow remains in some shape or form encompassing a great deal of the lowlands between the Cascade Crest and North Idaho Mountains while those same general mountain locations hold on to some minimal pop mention for snow through Tuesday. Wednesday/Thursday disturbance orientation in which it comes down in the northwest flow allows highest pops to remain near the Blue Mountains, Lewiston/Clarkston, Camas Prairie areas. Forecast temps show little trend through Tuesday but after the northwest flow that kicks in allows for a cooling trend into Wednesday and Thursday. /Pelatti && .AVIATION... 00Z TAFS: A weak front will cross the aviation area tonight. The resulting precipitation, mostly snow, will result in primarily MVFR/IFR Ceilings rather than visibilities. Light freezing drizzle in the wake of the front passage may be problematic after 12Z Friday. /Pelatti && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 21 32 26 35 28 37 / 50 20 20 50 10 10 Coeur dAlene 19 33 29 37 29 36 / 60 30 40 60 20 20 Pullman 25 33 27 37 30 40 / 80 50 20 20 10 10 Lewiston 29 36 31 37 32 44 / 70 30 30 10 10 10 Colville 17 30 26 35 27 37 / 40 10 30 60 20 20 Sandpoint 22 31 28 35 29 36 / 60 20 60 60 40 30 Kellogg 22 32 29 37 30 36 / 90 70 50 60 40 40 Moses Lake 22 32 23 34 26 42 / 20 10 10 10 10 10 Wenatchee 23 31 26 34 28 42 / 20 10 10 10 10 0 Omak 18 30 24 31 25 37 / 20 10 10 10 10 10 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 134 PM PST THU DEC 12 2013 IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>033-036-132145- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE- CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWISTON AREA- LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS- LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-WASHINGTON PALOUSE- SPOKANE AREA- 134 PM PST THU DEC 12 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO... NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT OVER MUCH OF THE IDAHO PANHANDLE AND THE EASTERN THIRD OF WASHINGTON. ONE TO THREE INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE BLUE MOUNTAINS AND CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS OF IDAHO...WITH THE HEAVIEST ACCUMULATIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 90. SLICK DRIVING CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AREAS OF FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR SLICK ROADWAYS AND SIDEWALKS. WAZ037-038-041>044-132145- NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA- EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 134 PM PST THU DEC 12 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. WAZ034-035-132145- MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN- 134 PM PST THU DEC 12 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW POTENTIALLY MIXED WITH SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHERN GRANT AND ADAMS COUNTIES TONIGHT. SNOW AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE EXTREMELY LIGHT HOWEVER SLICK CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE DURING THE FRIDAY MORNING COMMUTE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Light slush and excessive speed along Highway 195 led to a three vehicle accident twenty miles north of Colfax. Five people were injured but there were no fatalities.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, December 2013
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: 482257.