A system produced significant snow over portions of the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 system produced significant snow over portions of the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon.
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 30, 7:49 PM PST, 7 hours 11 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
749 PM PST Mon Jan 30 2017
.UPDATE...Precipitation has not yet started to reach the ground in
the CWA and the radar hasn't changed much in the past couple of
hours...but the cold front can be seen slowly sinking southward
across south central WA into N Central OR at this time. Current
forecast seems to be a bit fast but still pretty much on track.
Expect snow to develop over the WA zones overnight and then over N
Oregon Tuesday morning. It should continue and increase during the
day from north to south. May have to lower max temepratures a bit
for Tuesday due to more clouds and a later end to the first part of
this week's first part of the snow scenario. Tuesday night the snow
will end for a time with a mostly dry day on Wednesday. Then the
next trough will move into the region Wednesday night into Thursday
with the second part of this snow episode...which should be wetter
and stronger. It will continue into Friday followed by warming
during the weekend as a southwest flow develops and heights and 850
mb temperatures increase. 88
&&
.AVIATION...06Z TAFs...periods of MVFR or IFR conditions will
increase especially over northern areas as snow develops overnight
and on Tuesday. The least areas for MVFR or IFR overnight will be at
KRDM and KBDN but then on Tuesday these locations too will be in the
snow and will have periods of MFR/IFR conditions as areas north such
as KYKM and KPSC sees some improvement late in the day or evening.
Winds will be light through the period. 88
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 315 PM PST Mon Jan 30 2017/
SHORT TERM...Tonight through Thursday...Ridging continues to flatten
over the Interior Northwest...as a system moves southward along the
BC coast. The systems cold front will enter northern/central WA
tonight...gradually moving south to the WA/OR border early Tuesday
then nudge south through Wednesday to north-central Oregon. The
greatest dynamics and upslope flow will occur Tuesday/Tuesday night
across northern Oregon. Snow levels will fall with the passage of
the frontal boundary...so expect most of the precip to be in the
form of snow...although brief pockets of freezing rain cannot be
ruled out tonight across the lowest elevations. Have made minor
adjustments to timing of the winter weather advisories...beginning
them a bit later across the OR basin given slightly delayed onset of
organized snowfall. In addition...with little break in the precip
stretching from Wallowa county westward across the Blues to north
central OR...have extended the winter weather advisory through
Wednesday...and have added the John Day Basin to the advisory.
Overall...think 2-4/3-5 inches per 24 hours will prevail in the
advisory areas...with significantly higher amounts in the northern
Blues given nearly optimal upslope flow through Tuesday night.
A short lived break from precip will be likely across WA/extreme
northern OR Wednesday...before the next large scale trough makes it
onshore Thursday pushing the surface boundary back to the north over
the region. Additional advisories and/or warnings will likely be
required as the active winter pattern continues.
LONG TERM....Thursday Night through Monday...An upper level
low off the northern CA coast will shift northeast and fill. This
will push the front north as a series of moisture bands rotate into
OR and WA. Friday night and Saturday remnants of the low will linger
in the area. This will allow temperatures to warm up, but showers
will keep valley rain and mountain snow over the CWA. Saturday night
through Monday westerly flow with a series of weak disturbances will
move through the area. This will keep showers over eastern WA and OR
though rain shadowing will limit pops in the lower Columbia Basin
and Deschutes Plateau.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 30 32 23 26 / 30 90 40 30
ALW 31 33 24 28 / 60 90 30 20
PSC 30 34 22 30 / 60 80 10 10
YKM 31 34 21 30 / 60 60 10 10
HRI 30 33 23 28 / 30 80 20 20
ELN 27 31 17 26 / 60 30 10 0
RDM 25 40 24 30 / 10 40 60 40
LGD 24 32 24 28 / 20 90 60 50
GCD 25 40 28 32 / 0 60 60 50
DLS 33 37 29 30 / 30 60 20 30
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Winter Weather Advisory from 4 AM Tuesday to 4 PM PST Wednesday
for ORZ049-050-503-508-510.
Winter Storm Warning until 4 AM PST Wednesday for ORZ502.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 AM to 4 PM PST Tuesday for ORZ044-
507.
Winter Weather Advisory from 10 AM Tuesday to 4 PM PST Wednesday
for ORZ505.
WA...Winter Storm Warning until 4 AM PST Wednesday for WAZ030.
Winter Weather Advisory until 4 PM PST Tuesday for WAZ028-029.
&&
88/76/88The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Measured snow fall of 4 inches, 6 miles northeast of Hermiston in Umatilla county.
Measured snow fall of 6 inches at Mission, in Umatilla county.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, January 2017
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: 677238, 677240.