Heavy Snow in Washington, February 16 to 17, 2014

Name: Heavy Snow in Washington, February 16 to 17, 2014
Start: 2014-02-16T22:00
End: 2014-02-17T13:00
Location: Washington

February 16 to 17, 2014 · NWS PDT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.

A very moist pacific weather system move over the interior pacific northwest on the evening of February 16th. Cold air that had remained trapped along the East Slopes of the Cascades allowed for the moisture to fall as snow. Very heavy wet snow accumulated in about an 8 hour period. With 13 inches of new snow just northwest of the town of Easton, and 12 inches of new snow just northeast of the town of Cle Elum.

What forecasters said that day

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 Feb 16, 9:50 PM PST, 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 9:50 PM PST, 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
950 PM PST SUN FEB 16 2014

UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION

.SHORT TERM...UPDATE...THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF STORMS TO AFFECT THE
PACIFIC NORTHWEST IS APPROACHING THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST THIS
EVENING. AS SUCH PRESSURE GRADIENTS ARE BEGINNING TIGHTEN ACROSS THE
REGION. WINDS HAVE PICKED UP IN THE WESTERN YAKIMA VALLEY AND IN
PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL OREGON. SHOULD SEE WINDS PICK
UP ELSEWHERE DURING THE REMAINDER OF THE EVENING. OVERALL THE TIMING
OF THE STRONGEST WINDS CONTINUES TO BE OVERNIGHT INTO MONDAY
MORNING. 850 MB WINDS HAVE WEAKENED A BIT, BUT SHOULD STILL SEE
GUSTS OF 40 TO 55 MPH WITH THE POTENTIAL OF A LOCAL GUST TO NEAR 60
MPH. AS SUCH WILL CONTINUE THE CURRENT WIND ADVISORIES. WILL HAVE TO
CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE WINDS IN THE SOUTHERN GRANDE RONDE VALLEY
AND THE SOUTHEAST END OF THE WALLOWA VALLEY. GRADIENTS MAY TIGHTEN
TOWARDS MORNING FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF ADVISORY WINDS IN THESE AREAS.
PRECIP MOVED INTO THE EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES A
COUPLE OF HOURS AGO. SNOW LEVELS APPEAR TO BE RUNNING AROUND 2000
FEET IN THE NORTH AND AROUND 2400 FEET AT THE SOUTH END. ROAD
CAMERAS SHOW SNOW INTO EASTON, AND THIS AREA SHOULD SEE THE BEST
SNOWFALL. OVERALL, PRECIP AMOUNTS FOR THE WASHINGTON CASCADE EAST
SLOPES STILL LOOK QUITE GOOD. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD BE DECENT
NEAR THE CREST, ESPECIALLY IN YAKIMA AND KITTITAS COUNTIES, AND WILL
CONTINUE THE CURRENT STORM WARNING. UPDATES THIS EVENING WERE MAINLY
MADE TO ADJUST SOME WIND FORECASTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE GORGE, AND TO
INCREASE SOME OVERNIGHT LOWS WHERE WINDS WILL PERSIST. 90

.LONG TERM...PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...A COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO
PUSH ACROSS THE AREA WEDNESDAY WITH BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS AND
LOWERED SNOW LEVELS.  THE STRONGEST WINDS LOOK TO OCCUR ON THURSDAY
AND FRIDAY...BUT CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH THAT THEY WILL NEED
HIGHLIGHTS.  WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SITUATION AS IT APPROACHES
THE NEAR TERM. WEDNESDAY NIGHT...SNOW LEVELS LOOK TO RANGE AROUND
1500FT...WITH THE BEST CHANCES OF PRECIPITATION TO BE OVER THE
MOUNTAINS.  A MOIST PROGRESSIVE NORTHWEST FLOW WILL LIKELY PERSIST
THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.  DEPENDING ON HOW MOIST THE SYSTEM IS COULD
WARRANT FOR SOME MOUNTAIN HIGHLIGHT FOR SNOW TOWARDS MID TO LATE
THIS WEEK...BUT TOO EARLY TO TELL AT THIS POINT.  HAVE FRIDAY NIGHT
THROUGH SUNDAY MOSTLY DRY AS A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ATTEMPTS TO
BUILD OVER THE AREA.  MODELS START TO DIVERGE AT THIS POINT WITH THE
GFS INDICATING ANOTHER DISTURBANCE TO PUSH IN SUNDAY NIGHT...AND THE
ECMWF HOLDING ONTO THE WARMER AND DRIER PATTERN.  EITHER WAY IT
LOOKS LIKE SNOW LEVELS WILL BE ON THE RISE THIS WEEKEND AND
TEMPERATURES SHOULD START TO IMPROVE.

&&

.AVIATION...06Z TAFS...VFR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THIS
PERIOD. EXPECT ALL TAF SITES TO BE BREEZY TO WINDY AT SOME POINT DUE
TO STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENTS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW MOVING THROUGH
SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA. EXPECT MOST TAF SITES TO GUST BETWEEN 20
AND 40 KTS OVERNIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE KDLS
WHICH SHOULD SEE THE WINDIEST CONDITIONS MONDAY AFTERNOON WHEN
GRADIENTS BECOME FAVORABLE FOR GORGE WINDS. LLWS MAY BE A CONCERN
FOR KYKM. TIME RANGE WOULD BE 09Z-15Z TO ACCOUNT FOR A 20KT CHANGE
IN WIND SPEED AROUND 2000 FT AGL. LOWEST CIGS WILL BE 4000-4500 FT
AGL AT KRDM, KBDN AND KDLS MONDAY AFTERNOON. CIGS ELSEWHERE WILL RUN
6-8000 FT AGL MONDAY. 90

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  38  52  36  55 /  10  50  40  70
ALW  44  54  38  53 /  10  60  40  70
PSC  42  55  37  54 /  10  20  30  70
YKM  36  48  32  47 /  40  40  40  70
HRI  40  54  36  55 /  10  30  30  60
ELN  34  45  29  43 /  60  60  40  80
RDM  35  50  33  50 /  10  20  40  60
LGD  35  43  32  45 /  10  50  40  80
GCD  31  46  29  47 /  10  20  40  60
DLS  37  51  34  49 /  40  60  50  70

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM PST MONDAY ORZ044-507-508.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM PST MONDAY ORZ510-511.

WA...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM PST MONDAY WAZ028-029.

     WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST MONDAY ABOVE 2000 FEET FOR
     THE WAZ520.

     WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM PST MONDAY WAZ027-521.

&&

THREAT INDEX
MONDAY : YELLOW
TUESDAY : GREEN
WEDNESDAY : 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

90/89/90

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 16, 2:31 PM PST, 7 hours 29 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
231 PM PST SUN FEB 16 2014

ORZ044-507-508-510-511-WAZ027>029-521-172245-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF OREGON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE NORTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE SOUTHERN BLUE MOUNTAINS OF OREGON-
NORTH CENTRAL OREGON-CENTRAL OREGON-YAKIMA VALLEY-
LOWER COLUMBIA BASIN OF WASHINGTON-
FOOTHILLS OF THE BLUE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON-SIMCOE HIGHLANDS-
231 PM PST SUN FEB 16 2014

CORRECTION TO SNOW LEVEL IN SECOND SEGMENT FOR TONIGHT.

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
OREGON...NORTH CENTRAL OREGON...NORTHEAST OREGON...SOUTH
WASHINGTON...SOUTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

INCREASING SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING. LOCALIZED
STRONG GUSTS LIKELY TONIGHT INTO MONDAY AFTERNOON. WIND ADVISORIES
ARE IN EFFECT. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST TEXT PRODUCT PDXNPWPDT
FOR MORE DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

SEVERAL MORE WEATHER SYSTEMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA NEXT WEEK
WITH PERIODS OF RAIN SNOW AND WIND.

WAZ520-172245-
EAST SLOPES OF THE WASHINGTON CASCADES-
231 PM PST SUN FEB 16 2014

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT

HEAVY WET SNOW AND RAIN ARE LIKELY WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR SEVERAL
INCHES OF SNOW ABOVE 2000 FEET. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN
EFFECT. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST TEXT PRODUCT...PDWSWPDT FOR
MORE DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

MORE SNOW AND RAIN ARE EXPECTED INTO AT LEAST MIDWEEK WITH A
DRYING TREND POSSIBLE TOWARD NEXT WEEKEND.

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, East Slopes of the Washington Cascades

When: February 16, 10:00 PM PST to February 17, 1:00 PM PST
Where: East Slopes of the Washington Cascades forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Washington in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, February 2014

Sources

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: 489380.