A winter storm of moderate intensity brought snow to portions of central and northeast Oregon.
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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 PDT wrote it up.
A winter storm of moderate intensity brought snow to portions of central and northeast 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 Mar 13, 3:30 PM PST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
430 PM PDT Fri Mar 13 2020
.SHORT TERM...Tonight through Sunday night...A complex winter storm
pattern is setting up over the Pacific NW with various winter
weather advisories throughout the forecast area. The advisories
that were issued for the east slopes of the OR Cascades and the
southern Blue Mountains were extended until Sun afternoon.
Advisories were also issued from Sat afternoon through Sun afternoon
for central Oregon in the Bend/Redmond areas as well as the John Day
Basin and the Ochoco-John Day Highlands. Upon further review, snow
accumulations of 3-6 inches are forecast for north central OR and
the southern Blue Mountain Foothills covering the Condon/Fossil
areas through Sunday afternoon. These amounts meet Winter Storm
Warning criteria and one will be issued for the afternoon package.
Not only will moisture circulate around the closed low, but there is
decent low level upslope that will enhance snow in these areas.
The low is deepening off the OR coast and quite impressive on
satellite loops. The low will intensify over the next 24 hours and
travel south along the coast. By Sunday morning, the low will be
just west of the northern CA coast near Crescent City. A strong
northerly surface pressure gradient will also develop east of the
Cascades which will cause breezy winds over eastern WA tonight and
most of the forecast area on Saturday. Although winds will
generally gust to around 20-30 mph, there could be winds 30-40 mph
over the Lower Columbia Basin and the Yakima Valleys. Gusts around
45 mph are expected along the Rattlesnake Hills and the Tri-Cities
northward where drifting snow is likely. This has been highlighted
in the winter statements and social media posts.
Drier air will spread from the north Sunday, and most of eastern
Washington will have little to no additional snowfall. Eastern
Oregon will have snow through the day, gradually tapering off from
the north. Scattered snow showers will continue over central and
southeast Oregon Sunday evening, decreasing to isolated snow showers
overnight. Wister
.LONG TERM...Monday through Friday...A persistent upper low to our
south will keep showery conditions mainly over the southern third of
the area through most of the long term period. Initially the low
will be off of the northern California coast. This will bring
moisture into the area on a southerly flow and the eastern mountains
and central Oregon south of Bend will have a chance of light snow
showers while the rest of the area is dry. Monday night the low will
move south to around San Francisco and a slight chance of light snow
showers will be confined to the Ochoco-John Day Highlands, central
Oregon south of Bend and perhaps as far north as John Day. Snow
amounts will be less than an inch even in the higher mountains. The
low will continue to move slowly south along the southern California
coast Tuesday through Wednesday with just a slight chance of barely
measurable snow over the southern fringes of the forecast area.
Wednesday night will see the low move ashore and cross Southern
California into Arizona by Thursday and then off to the midwest
Thursday night. Models hint at a weak low developing over Utah and
Idaho Thursday and remaining there through Friday so have kept a
slight chance of snow showers in the eastern Oregon mountains and
the Cascades Wednesday night through Friday. Overall do not see any
significant snow amounts through the low term period, just an
occasional quarter inch or less at times. Temperatures will start
out in the mid 30s to mid 40s Monday then warm a few degrees each
day, ending up in the upper 40s and 50s on Friday. Perry
&&
.AVIATION...00Z TAFs...Winter storm moving across the region will
bring steadier snow through early tomorrow morning. MVFR to IFR
VIS/CIGs expected, possibly lower under heavier snow. Snow will
transitioning to more showers and vicinity showers after 15Z.
Mountain obscuration likely through the period. Winds 8-16kt with
higher gusts through the period. Stronger winds at PSC up to
22g32kts through early tomorrow could lead to areas of blowing snow.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 22 35 20 33 / 90 60 30 50
ALW 25 38 22 39 / 90 70 20 40
PSC 25 37 22 41 / 90 40 10 20
YKM 23 35 18 41 / 80 40 10 20
HRI 24 36 22 37 / 90 40 30 40
ELN 21 35 16 40 / 80 50 10 20
RDM 22 38 13 31 / 70 50 60 50
LGD 27 43 26 44 / 60 70 40 60
GCD 30 45 27 45 / 70 50 60 80
DLS 28 38 24 37 / 80 70 30 40
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM PDT Sunday for ORZ509-511.
Winter Storm Warning from 8 PM this evening to 5 PM PDT Sunday
for ORZ508-510.
Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 5 PM PDT
Sunday for ORZ503-505-506.
Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 5 PM PDT
Saturday for ORZ049-050-502-507.
Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 5 PM PDT
Saturday for ORZ041-044.
WA...Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 5 PM PDT
Saturday for WAZ029-030.
Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM PDT Saturday for WAZ026-520.
Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 5 PM PDT
Saturday for WAZ024-027-028-521.
&&
85/83/84The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Coop Observer reported 10 inches of new snow 4 NW Meacham with the public reporting 8 inches of new snow at Tollgate store.
Coop observer in Heppner reported 5 inches of new snow while the public reported 4 inches of new snow in Condon.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Oregon in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Oregon, March 2020
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: 872227, 872228.