A moist occluded front passed through eastern Washington on January 16th. During the early morning hours this front brought pockets of freezing rain to some areas of eastern Washington.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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 OTX wrote it up.
A moist occluded front passed through eastern Washington on January 16th. During the early morning hours this front brought pockets of freezing rain to some areas of eastern Washington. Generally a few hundredths of an inch to slightly over one tenth of an inch of ice accumulation was noted in the Okanogan Valley and the southern valleys of the northeast Washington mountains. Mainly rain fell over the Columbia Basin with minor accumulations of snow in the mountains and the far northern valleys near the Canadian Border.
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 Jan 15, 10:16 PM PST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 1016 PM PST Mon Jan 15 2018 .SYNOPSIS... The weather turns unsettled for the rest of the work week. The first frontal system arrives late tonight into Tuesday with a band of light rain or snow. A second, wetter frontal system arrives Wednesday night into Thursday with a rain/snow mix in the valleys with snow in the mountains. A cooler and potentially snowy pattern is possible for the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Tonight through Tuesday night: The ridge of high pressure weakens as the first of many Pacific weather systems move through the region. High clouds are on the increase late this afternoon, while areas of stratus and fog lurk in the Cascade valleys under the easterly pressure gradient. These clouds will gradually raise overnight, but models show the low level moisture remaining high through the night. This will benefit sheltered locations and keep overnight temperatures from radiating before the frontal band arrives. The timing looks like precipitation will reach the Cascades after midnight and spread eastward slowly through the morning. Opted to favor of the mesoscale nam12 and hrrr for timing and precipitation type, which trend max wet bulbs above zero with most surface temperatures at or near freezing across north central Washington for Tuesday morning. The challenge will be precipitation type, but the trend looks to be more low elevation rain or snow that transition to a valley rain/mountain snow by afternoon. Pockets of of sleet or freezing rain are possible with the onset, but should be localized. The lack of cold air damming and mild afternoon temperatures favors this solution. The frontal band stretches and sheers as it tracks eastward toward north Idaho by afternoon, thanks to the remains of the upper ridge. Anticipate light rain and mountain snow showers into the evening for the Idaho Panhandle, before tapering off by Tuesday evening. Snowfall amounts will range from 2 to 5 inches for the higher Cascades, to 1 to 2 inches in the northern mountains. Valley locations should see an inch or less. Winds will veer to the south and southwest with the boundary's passage but not enough to scrub the low level moisture out. Stratus and patchy fog look to return for the Cascade and northern valleys by Tuesday evening under light winds. /rfox. Wednesday through Thursday...The next organized storm system to transit the region will occur during this period as another north Pacific closed low approaches the region. In the southwest flow aloft ahead of this feature a weak warm front will form over the forecast area on Wednesday. Moisture with this warm front will not be very deep and has been trending weaker over the last few model runs...so the warm front portion of this complex will mainly bring increasing clouds to most of the region on Wednesday...however the Cascades will benefit from some low level upslope and an approach of the deeper main moisture feed just ahead of the trailing occlusion during the day with an onset of light snow. The main event will occur Wednesday night as the trailing occluded front pushes through the region with a deeper feed of moisture. This will be a night time transit which would normally imply more of a snow event rather than rain...however the warm front will simply reinforce the mild air mass which has been prevalent over the region for the last week. Thus...with the exception of the Methow Valley and some areas immediately near the Cascades where a cooler air mass has been trapped against the mountains most of the basin will experience a cold rain from this system...with northern valleys possibly starting as snow but turning over to a low accumulation rain/snow mix maybe Wednesday night but almost certainly on Thursday. The mountains...the Cascades in general and the northern mountains above 3500 feet or so...will receive moderate to locally heavy snow accumulations. the Cascades in particular may be a good candidate for a low end Winter Storm Warning with this system with the northeast mountains and Okanogan Highlands zones maybe worth advisories. By Thursday afternoon the front will be directing the moisture feed into the Idaho Panhandle...and with models all suggesting the offshore parent low stalling off the BC coast...this front may simply hang up and stall providing a focusing mechanism for continued valley rain and mountain snow into the panhandle through Thursday night with moderate travel impacts across Lookout Pass possible. Friday through Monday...Models are in agreement in holding the offshore upper low off the coast as it slowly weakens. This will promote a southwest or westerly moist flow through the region ahead of it...with any number of minor impulses...poorly resolved but inferred from pattern recognition...to kick off some random daytime valley rain and mountain snow showers and overnight minor accumulation snow showers just about anywhere in the forecast area...an unsettled and slightly cooler more seasonal regime than recent days. On or about Sunday a new offshore upper low will approach the coast and create another organized warm front/cold front couplet which may be the next real storm system to bring widespread precipitation...with a better chance of accumulating snow for the valleys and northern basin as well as the mountains since by this time the polar storm track will reside to the south with the forecast area on the cold side of the polar jet. This upper low may very well eject through the region...making for a cool and unsettled snow showery regime through Monday as well. /Fugazzi && .AVIATION... 06Z TAFS: Clouds will increase through the night as the next weather system is pushing over the Cascades. Chance of -ra or -rasn will increase starting aft 10Z and spread southwest to northeast through the morning hours. It will clear the TAF locations btwn 18-00Z. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 31 39 30 38 37 40 / 0 90 10 10 90 40 Coeur d'Alene 30 39 30 39 36 39 / 0 80 10 10 90 60 Pullman 35 43 32 44 38 44 / 0 90 0 10 90 60 Lewiston 36 46 33 47 41 47 / 0 90 10 10 50 80 Colville 30 36 31 37 34 39 / 0 70 20 20 90 30 Sandpoint 30 36 30 36 34 38 / 0 50 40 20 90 60 Kellogg 33 38 29 38 34 38 / 0 50 10 10 90 80 Moses Lake 33 43 31 39 34 44 / 30 90 10 10 70 20 Wenatchee 33 39 31 34 30 37 / 50 80 10 30 90 20 Omak 32 37 29 34 32 36 / 30 80 10 50 90 30 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Spokane WA 633 AM PST Mon Jan 15 2018 IDZ001>003-026-WAZ031>038-041-043-044-161445- Northern Panhandle-Coeur d'Alene Area-Idaho Palouse-Lewiston Area- Northeast Blue Mountains-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties- Washington Palouse-Moses Lake Area-Upper Columbia Basin- Spokane Area-Northeast Mountains-Okanogan Highlands- Wenatchee Area-Okanogan Valley-Waterville Plateau- 633 AM PST Mon Jan 15 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho... North Central Idaho...Central Washington...East Central Washington...North Central Washington...Northeast Washington and Southeast Washington. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY No hazardous weather is expected at this time. IDZ004-WAZ042-161445- Central Panhandle Mountains-East Slopes Northern Cascades- 633 AM PST Mon Jan 15 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho and North Central Washington. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY An active weather pattern is expected to develop this week with a series of storm systems moving through. Light snow accumulations are expected in the Cascades Tuesday. A much more active pattern sets up Wednesday night and persists through the weekend. Snow will likely cause travel impacts at times in the Cascades as well as the Central Panhandle Mountains. IDZ027-161445- Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties- 633 AM PST Mon Jan 15 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Central Idaho. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY A wet weather system Wednesday night and Thursday has the potential to produce moderate rainfall which could lead to minor mudslides on steep slopes due to saturated ground.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
5 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A member of the public reported 0.15 inches of glaze ice from freezing rain covering an automobile at Grand Coulee.
The remote observing station at the Omak Airport reported 0.15 inches of freezing rain accumulation in a six hour period from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM before turning over to light snow.
A member of the public reported a 0.15 inch thick glaze of ice from freezing rain covering an automobile at Oroville.
A member of the public reported 0.10 inch of sleet and freezing rain creating a glaze of ice on automobiles and roads in the Sanpoil River Valley near Keller.
A member of the public reported cars and roads covered by a light coat of ice from freezing rain in Springdale. The freezing rain lasted 3 hours with an estimated 0.05 inches of ice accumulation.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 2018
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: 730397, 730395, 730396, 730398, 730403.