Oregon, 2019

Heavy Snow in Oregon, April 10 to 11, 2019

April 10 to 11, 2019 · NWS PDT · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A cool late season system brought one last gasp of wintry weather to the Blue Mountains from 10 to 11 April. Storm total snowfall estimated by Snow Telemetry sites ranged from 5 to 10 inches with the highest amounts in the northern Blue Mountains above 5000 feet.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 cool late season system brought one last gasp of wintry weather to the Blue Mountains from 10 to 11 April. Storm total snowfall estimated by Snow Telemetry sites ranged from 5 to 10 inches with the highest amounts in the northern Blue Mountains above 5000 feet.

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 Apr 10, 12:58 PM PST, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 10, 12:58 PM PST, 2 hours 2 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
158 PM PDT Wed Apr 10 2019

.SHORT TERM...Tonight through Saturday...Forecast area will continue
under a moist cool northwest flow through Thursday night. There will
be a shortwave moving through this flow overnight and Thursday which
will increase precipitation. The northwest flow will focus most of
the precipitation overnight and Thursday along the Cascade crest and
over the eastern mountains. The Columbia Basin and Cascade east
slopes will be partially rain shadowed by the Cascades so expecting
limited precipitation in these areas. Snow levels will dropping down
to 4000 to 4500 feet overnight and Thursday so expecting enough
accumulation to warrant some late season winter storm warnings and
advisories overnight and Thursday. Precipitation will begin to
decrease late Thursday night and Friday after the shortwave passes
with a brief break in precipitation late Friday through early
Saturday before another system arrives bringing more precipitation.
Breezy winds will continue through the evening and then decrease
overnight as the west to east pressure gradient decreases.

.LONG TERM...Saturday night through Wednesday.  A trough of low
pressure will be dropping over the region with another round of rain
and mountains snow.  Most of the precipitation will be over the
mountains in the northwest flow Saturday night and then become more
showery on Sunday.  The upper trough remains over the area through
Tuesday with some additional impulses moving through causing mainly
mountain shower with the strongest on Monday night into Tuesday.  On
Wednesday, a ridge will be shifting east over the area with drier
and warmer condition.   Temperatures will be slightly below normal
through Monday and then should start warming to near to slightly
above normal by Wednesday. 93

&&

.AVIATION...18Z TAFS...VFR conditions will prevail
through the period. Increasing clouds with sct-bkn 4-6 thousand feet
after 00z. Rain will affect the TAF sites tonight but chances will
be low enough at KYKM and KPSC to leave -RA out of the forecast for
now. Could be some MVFR conditions in the areas of rain tonight.
Winds will be gusty from the west today at 15-25 KT.   Rain will be
ending during the morning for western locations, but upslope flow
will keep lower clouds and rain at PDT/ALW through most of day. 93

&&

.HYDROLOGY...Water levels are continuing to decrease on most rivers
across the area, but moderate flooding continues on the Walla Walla
River near Touchet and the John Day River at Service Creek.  Minor
flooding continues on the Grande Ronde at Troy and the Umatilla
River near Gibbon. The water level has dropped below flood stage for
the Grande Ronde near Perry and is expected to drop below flood
stage for the Umatilla at Pendleton.  Other creeks and stream in
Grant county are dropping, but some flooding is still occurring on
Canyon Creek, and also some locations across the Blue Mountains, so
have extended the Areal Flood Warnings for those area for another 24
hours.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  44  56  41  58 /  80  60  30  20
ALW  44  59  42  61 /  80  60  40  20
PSC  46  64  44  66 /  20  20  10  10
YKM  43  62  41  64 /  20  20  10   0
HRI  46  62  43  64 /  60  40  20  10
ELN  40  56  37  58 /  30  20  20   0
RDM  39  53  37  55 /  40  50  20  10
LGD  38  49  36  51 /  80  70  50  30
GCD  38  49  37  53 /  90  70  40  30
DLS  45  60  43  62 /  50  40  20  10

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 3 PM PDT
     Thursday for ORZ050-506.

     Winter Storm Warning from 5 PM this afternoon to 3 PM PDT
     Thursday for ORZ502-503.

WA...Winter Storm Warning from 5 PM this afternoon to 3 PM PDT
     Thursday for WAZ030.

&&

91/93/93

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 10, 12:41 PM PST, 2 hours 19 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
141 PM PDT WED APR 10 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0200 AM     HEAVY SNOW       5 SW SPOUT SPRINGS      45.70N 118.12W
04/10/2019  E9.0 INCH        UMATILLA           OR   MESONET

            HIGH RIDGE SNOTEL. 9 INCHES OF NEW SNOW SINCE 11 AM
            TUESDAY. ELEVATION 4920 FEET.

&&

JAS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Blue Mountains

When
April 10, 3:00 PM PST to April 11, 6:00 PM PST
Where
Southern Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
45.153, -119.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Blue Mountains

When
April 10, 5:00 PM PST to April 11, 10:00 PM PST
Where
Northern Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
45.494, -117.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in Oregon in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, April 2019

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: 809284, 809283.