A winter storm system featuring a warm front followed by a cold front passage produced widespread accumulating snow over eastern Washington. Heavy snow accumulations were mainly confined to the northeastern zones, however 1 to 3 inches of accumulation occurred over much of the northern Columbia Basin.
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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.
A winter storm system featuring a warm front followed by a cold front passage produced widespread accumulating snow over eastern Washington. Heavy snow accumulations were mainly confined to the northeastern zones, however 1 to 3 inches of accumulation occurred over much of the northern Columbia Basin. Three to 5 inches of snow accumulation was common in the higher Cascade valleys as well.
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 Nov 4, 10:32 AM PST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
1132 AM PDT Sat Nov 4 2017
.SYNOPSIS...
Today will be unseasonably chilly with periods of light snow.
Widespread accumulating snow is expected on Sunday morning. Most
residents of the Inland Northwest will wake up to see snow on
Sunday morning. Drier but cool weather will prevail for the start
of the work week. The weather will turn wetter but warmer after
midweek with significant mountain snows possible by the weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
An unseasonably chilly upper level trough will promote periods of
light snow for the remainder of the weekend. A pair of upper level
disturbances will track through our chilly trough enhancing snow
today and late tonight. Look for light snow to increase in the mid
to late evening hours over the Palouse, Spokane area, and the
Idaho Panhandle. With daytime temperatures in the mid 30s,
accumulations up to an inch will be possible on grassy surfaces.
As the sun sets, slushy accumulations will have the potential to
impact travel early this evening.
A brief break in snow is expected from mid evening through about 2
AM. Our second and more significant disturbance will produce
widespread accumulations during the early morning hours Sunday.
The morning runs of the GFS, NAM, and ECMWF continue to suggest 3
to 6 inches for Wenatchee, Chelan, and Waterville where the
combination of moist frontal forcing aloft and enhanced low level
lift over cold air dammed against the Cascades yield the heaviest
snow. Accumulations of 2 to 4 inches still look plausible along
and north of I-90 from Moses Lake to Ritzville to the Spokane/CDA
metro. Amounts for Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, and Bonner
counties will be a tough call. There are some discrepancies
between the models on how far north the warm frontal forcing will
track. /GKoch
&&
.AVIATION...
18Z TAFS: Winter has arrived early leading to a complex set of
TAFs. Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, and Pullman will have a couple shots
for accumulating snow. The GFS, NAM, and ECMWF produce a swath of
light snow in the 21z-03z time frame. During the daylight hours,
snow will struggle to accumulate on pavement, but as the sun goes
down slushy accumulations will become more probable. A second more
significant round of snow will develop in the 09z-12z time frame
and will impact all airports. The pre-dawn arrival of snow will
allow snow to accumulate on runways. 3 to 6 inches for Wenatchee
and Chelan. 2 to 4 inches for Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Moses Lake,
and Pullman. A bit of slushy accumulation at Lewiston may even
occur early Sunday morning. /GKoch
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane 35 27 31 24 32 18 / 70 60 100 90 20 0
Coeur d'Alene 35 27 30 24 33 18 / 70 80 100 100 20 0
Pullman 37 30 35 29 35 20 / 60 80 100 90 30 0
Lewiston 42 32 40 31 41 23 / 30 70 90 80 30 10
Colville 35 22 32 17 34 15 / 40 50 80 70 0 0
Sandpoint 34 24 31 18 32 15 / 60 60 80 80 20 0
Kellogg 33 26 33 24 33 17 / 80 90 100 100 40 10
Moses Lake 40 27 34 23 38 16 / 20 100 100 40 0 0
Wenatchee 39 28 32 24 38 17 / 10 100 100 40 0 0
Omak 35 24 32 19 35 17 / 10 60 100 20 0 10
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Winter Weather Advisory from 4 AM Sunday to 10 AM PST Monday for
Central Panhandle Mountains.
Winter Weather Advisory from 4 AM Sunday to 4 AM PST Monday for
Coeur d'Alene Area.
WA...Winter Weather Advisory from 4 AM Sunday to 4 AM PST Monday for
Spokane Area.
Winter Weather Advisory from 11 PM PDT this evening to 4 PM PST
Sunday for East Slopes Northern Cascades-Waterville Plateau-
Wenatchee Area.
Winter Weather Advisory from 11 PM PDT this evening to 10 PM PST
Sunday for Moses Lake Area-Upper Columbia Basin.
&&Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Spokane WA 559 AM PDT Sat Nov 4 2017 IDZ001>004-WAZ033>038-041>044-051300- Northern Panhandle-Coeur d'Alene Area-Idaho Palouse- Central Panhandle Mountains-Washington Palouse-Moses Lake Area- Upper Columbia Basin-Spokane Area-Northeast Mountains- Okanogan Highlands-Wenatchee Area-East Slopes Northern Cascades- Okanogan Valley-Waterville Plateau- 559 AM PDT Sat Nov 4 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho... Central Washington...East Central Washington...North Central Washington...Northeast Washington and Southeast Washington. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT Snow will increase late this evening into the overnight hours in North Central Washington. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY Light to moderate snow accumulations are likely Sunday through early Monday. The highest accumulations are expected from the Wenatchee area through the Upper Columbia Basin, Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area, and the Central Panhandle Mountains where many towns will see the first significant snowfall of the season. Cold overnight lows are expected Monday night with teens for most towns. IDZ026-027-WAZ031-032-051300- Lewiston Area-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties- Northeast Blue Mountains-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties- 559 AM PDT Sat Nov 4 2017 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Central Idaho and Southeast Washington. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY Light to moderate snow accumulations in the Blue Mountains and Camas Prairie are expected Sunday into Monday morning.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
An observer at Elk reported 9.0 inches of new snow accumulation.
The 49 North Ski Resort reported 15 to 20 inches of snow accumulation with this storm system. The Mount Spokane Ski Resort reported 5 to 7 inches of accumulation.
The weather observer at the NWS office in Spokane measured 5.1 inches of storm total snow accumulation. The observer at the nearby Spokane International Airport measured 5.9 inches.
A spotter 3.5 miles northwest of Spokane recorded 5.0 inches of new snow accumulation.
An observer 5 miles southeast of Spokane recorded recorded 6.0 inches of new snow accumulation, while another nearby observer recorded 4.5 inches.
An observer in Deer Park recorded recorded 5.7 inches of new snow accumulation, while another nearby observer recorded 5.0 inches.
An observer in Deer Park recorded recorded 5.7 inches of new snow accumulation, while another nearby observer recorded 5.0 inches.
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, November 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: 724135, 724137, 724130, 724131, 724132, 724133, 724134.