A storm system moving across southern Oregon produced heavy snow across portions of central and northeast Oregon. Also heavy snow fell over portions of the Columbia River Gorge in both Oregon and Washington.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 storm system moving across southern Oregon produced heavy snow across portions of central and northeast Oregon. Also heavy snow fell over portions of the Columbia River Gorge in both Oregon and Washington.
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 10, 2:13 AM PST, 7 hours 47 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
213 AM PST Tue Jan 10 2017
.SHORT TERM...Today Through Wednesday Night...A band of snow is
moving into eastern WA this morning. An upper level low near the
coast will push a stronger band into central OR late this morning.
This will bring an area of moderate to heavy snow over central
Oregon into the John Day highlands this afternoon. Lighter snow will
occur farther to the north. This band of snow will persist over OR
tonight. Snow will taper off north to south Wednesday morning
through Thursday morning as the upper level low moves south along
the coast. Total accumulations for central Oregon are significant
with snow amounts of 6-12 inches for many locations and 12-24 inches
for the Oregon Cascades. Winter storm warnings and advisories are in
effect through Wednesday morning. As the low moves south along the
coast Wednesday night colder and drier air will move into eastern WA
and OR. It will be colder with lows 0-10 degrees Thursday morning.
Coonfield
.LONG TERM...Thursday through Tuesday...The weather will continue to
be active through the extended period. An arctic airmass will linger
over the forecast area on Thursday through Saturday. Conditions will
be very cold during this time period. There will be strong high
pressure over the top of the CWA resulting in mostly clear skies
with just a few mid and high clouds at times. It will be dry through
Friday night and then on Saturday a weak cold front will move across
the CWA bringing a chance of light snow to the region. Snow amounts
will be light and the precipitation will be of short duration due to
the fast movement of this cold front. It will bring mixing winds on
Saturday night and Sunday to help mix out the arctic air over the
CWA...but as usual the arctic air will be difficult to scour out of
the Lower Columbia Basin and adjacent valleys to the north and west.
Snow levels on Saturday will still be at the basin floor but then
they will rise on Sunday to around 1500 in the Yakima/Kittitas
Valleys to about 4000 feet in central Oregon. Another weather system
will move into the region Sunday night into next Monday. Snow levels
will have risen enough to cause precipitation type to be mostly rain
(with possible sleet or freezing rain, but will leave that out of
the forecast for that far out). In the mountains it will be mainly
snow. From Monday onward the pattern will be westerly with frequent
weather systems and breezy to windy conditions at times...especially
on the ridges. The long range models are in good agreement with each
other until about Sunday and then they diverge from each other after
that, making the timing of the individual weather system difficult.
However they do show some semblance of an upper ridge on Sunday and
then a fast progressive westerly flow from Monday onward. 88
&&
.AVIATION...12Z TAFs...Conditions will be mostly MVFR or IFR this
morning and through tonight in rain and/or snow with low cigs and
visibility. There will be times of VFR conditions through...
especially over KPSC...KPDT and KALW. Winds will be mostly light and
under 15 kts today...but there could be some local breezy northerly
winds of 15 to 25 kts tonight as a stronger weather system moves
across the area with an arctic cold front. 88
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 30 13 17 6 / 60 60 60 20
ALW 32 15 19 8 / 50 50 50 20
PSC 30 14 20 2 / 60 30 30 10
YKM 29 14 22 1 / 70 20 20 10
HRI 31 15 20 6 / 60 50 30 10
ELN 27 10 20 -1 / 60 20 20 10
RDM 37 14 19 -2 / 90 90 70 10
LGD 35 20 24 6 / 60 70 60 20
GCD 37 16 26 0 / 90 80 60 20
DLS 33 22 24 9 / 60 60 40 10
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Winter Storm Warning until 4 AM PST Wednesday for ORZ505-506-509-
511.
Winter Weather Advisory until 4 AM PST Wednesday for ORZ510.
Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM PST Wednesday for ORZ503.
Winter Weather Advisory from 5 AM early this morning to 10 AM
PST Wednesday for ORZ041.
Winter Weather Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 10 AM PST
Wednesday for ORZ508.
WA...Winter Weather Advisory from 5 AM early this morning to 10 AM
PST Wednesday for WAZ024.
&&
76/88/88PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
549 AM PST TUE JAN 10 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0418 AM HEAVY SNOW 7 WNW BLACK BUTTE RANCH 44.40N 121.80W
01/10/2017 E8.0 INCH JEFFERSON OR DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
8 INCHES NEW SNOW SANTIAM PASS
0316 AM HEAVY SNOW 16 SW MITCHELL 44.40N 120.38W
01/10/2017 E6.0 INCH CROOK OR DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
6 INCHES NEW SNOW OCHOCO SUMMIT
&&
DCOONPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
734 AM PST TUE JAN 10 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0733 AM HEAVY SNOW 2 NW BEND 44.09N 121.34W
01/10/2017 M5.0 INCH DESCHUTES OR COCORAHS
5 INCHES OF NEW SNOW SINCE 11PM. ELEVATION 3679 FEET.
&&
JASPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
747 AM PST TUE JAN 10 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0746 AM HEAVY SNOW 5 NNW LA PINE 43.74N 121.54W
01/10/2017 E6.5 INCH DESCHUTES OR TRAINED SPOTTER
6.5 INCHES OF NEW SNOW SINCE MONDAY EVENING. ELEVATION
4255 FEET.
&&
JASPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
937 AM PST TUE JAN 10 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0932 AM HEAVY SNOW 1 WSW BEND 44.06N 121.33W
01/10/2017 M6.2 INCH DESCHUTES OR COCORAHS
6.2 INCHES OF NEW SNOW SINCE MONDAY EVENING. ELEVATION
3699 FEET.
0932 AM HEAVY SNOW BEND 44.07N 121.31W
01/10/2017 M6.0 INCH DESCHUTES OR CO-OP OBSERVER
6 INCHES OF NEW SNOW SINCE MONDAY EVENING. ELEVATION 3660
FEET.
&&
JASThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Measured snow fall of 11 inches at White Salmon, in Klickitat county. Elevation of 813 feet.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, 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: 676673.