Washington, 2020

Flooding in Washington, February 6 to 9, 2020

February 6 to 9, 2020 · NWS PDT · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

Heavy snow on February 4-5, 2020 was followed by a period of heavy rain, February 5-7. Snow levels rose to near 5000 feet.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$8.8 million
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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.

Heavy snow on February 4-5, 2020 was followed by a period of heavy rain, February 5-7. Snow levels rose to near 5000 feet. The heavy rain and snow melt lead to moderate flooding and several landslides along the East Slopes of the Washington Cascades. There was record flooding on several rivers, including the Umatilla, Walla Walla and Touchet rivers with widespread flooding of numerous other creeks and streams and rivers across Umatilla, Union and Wallowa Counties of Oregon and Walla Walla and Columbia Counties of Washington. Initial Weather Conditions February 1, 2020, snowpack across along the East Slopes of the Washington Cascades ranged from 80 to 100 percent of normal. Across the northern Blue Mountains of Oregon and northern Blue mountains of Washington the snowpack was near normal. A weather system brought heavy snow to this region on February 4th and the first part of the day on February 5th with snow amounts from around 10 to 20 inches for locations between 2000 to 4000 feet. During the afternoon of the 5th, snow changed to rain at elevations below 5000 feet. Selected locations snow amounts for February 4-5, include 8 inches at 2.6 miles SSE of Snoqualmie Pass, 7 inches at Cle Elum, 2 inches at Easton, 12.5 inches at Ski Blue Wood and 2 inches at Dayton in Columbia County. For Oregon, snow amounts include, La Grande 7-10 inches, Summerville 10 inches, La Grande, 5 Miles NNE- 17.5 inches, Meacham 13 inches, Elgin 9.8 N 8 inches, Joseph 6 inches and Wallowa 8 inches. The rain continued over through February 6 and 7th. Precipitation amounts in the form of rain at the headwaters of the rivers, ranged from 3 to 5 inches. Rain amounts for the 48 hours ending on the morning of February 8th, for selected locations include 6.31 inches at 2.6 miles SSE of Snoqualmie Pass, 3.27 inches at Easton, 5.83 inches near Lake Cle Elum and 2.17 inches at 8.7 miles NE Dayton. Snotel sites reported 2 day precipitation amounts of 6.3 inches at Touchet #2 in the Columbia County. There was 1.98 inches over 72 hours at 1.1 NE Walla Walla. In Oregon, rain amounts for the 48 hours ending on the morning of February 8th for selected locations include: from Coop Observer, Emigrant Springs 2.82 inches, Union 1.01 inches , Cove- 2.48 inches, La Grande - 2.50 inches, Lostine 1.39 inches. From CoCoRahs and other public weather spotters, 9.8 N Elgin 5.45 inches, La Grande- 3.02 inches and Wallowa 2.66 inches. Snotel sites reported 2 day precipitation amounts of 5.9 inches at High Ridge, 3.0 inches at Moss Springs, 1.6 inches at Milkshake. In addition, the snowpack from the preceding day was melted, contributing to the runoff. Observations show 5 to 7 inches of snow melted from February 5th to February 6th at Easton and Cle Elum. Home owners in the Lake Cle Elum area noted a loss of 3 to 5 feet of snow An observer located 5 miles north of La Grande reported 17.5 inches of snow fell on February 4-5 and then by the morning of February 6th, the snow depth had decreased to around 8 inches and was depleted during the day on the 6th. Satellite snowpack images show 1-3 inches of snow water equivalent (or water held in the snowpack) melted out along both the east and west sides of the northern Blue Mountains in Oregon and around the foothills of the Grande Ronde Valley generally between 2000 to 4000 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 Feb 6, 1:36 PM PST, 5 hours 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 1:36 PM PST, 5 hours 54 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
136 PM PST Thu Feb 6 2020

.SHORT TERM...This afternoon through Saturday night...Wide array
of forecast concerns for the short term, but of most significance is
the ongoing and projected flooding along rivers and streams, as
well as areal flooding. The best potential will be in the mountains
and their adjacent foothills across northeast Oregon and far
southeast Washington. Heavy snow followed by moderate to heavy
rain over the past few days, along with warm temps, have created
significant snowmelt and runoff. The mountain rain and high
elevation snow will continue into tonight before tapering off
tomorrow as the plume of deep Pacific moisture continues to ride
over the eastern Pac ridge and on down into the PacNW. Precip will
be moderate to heavy at times. Bumped up QPF amounts and could
see 0.50-2.00+ inches of additional liquid over the mountains.
Snow levels remain quite high between 5-6kft, but highest peaks
will see heavy snow amounts. Could see an enhancement of precip
overnight as a mid-level jet streak rushes overhead. Brief transient
ridging could bring a break in precip, but this will be short-
lived as an upper-level low/trough will dig down south across the
region Friday night into Saturday morning. As the cold front
drifts south, expect a burst of mountain snow and a chance of
valley rain. Snow levels will drop late Fri night into Sat morning
down to 2-3kft and area passes and summits could see impactful
snowfall, especially Tollgate, Snoqualmie and White Passes.
Lingering mountain snow showers Saturday night will end Sunday
morning as the upper low/trough dig well south of the region and
northerly flow sets up, bringing cooler and much drier conditions.
Locally breezy conditions through tomorrow. Breezy to windy
conditions possible late tomorrow night into Saturday with the
frontal passage and could approach advisory criteria in the
Basin/Gorge. Mild today and tomorrow with highs in the mid 40s to
upper 50s. Cooler behind the front on Saturday with highs in the
upper 30s to low 50s.

.LONG TERM...Sunday through Thursday...Dry conditions are forecast
for Sunday through Monday evening.  A northerly flow aloft will
follow Saturday's shortwave trough, and Sunday will be cool with
highs in the 30s in the mountains and 40s elsewhere.  The offshore
ridge will shift eastward Sunday night and Monday with heights
increasing.  It will be cold Sunday night with lows in the upper
teens to upper 20s, and Monday will be a few degrees higher on
temperatures compared to Sunday.  There is a possibility of
overnight fog and freezing fog due to recent precipitation in the
area, although it's not common to have widespread fog in mid
February with increasing sun each day.  The next shortwave trough
will arrive from the north on Tuesday and Tuesday night.  The 12Z
ECMWF is coming more in line with the GFS, as it was stronger in the
previous runs.  There will be low snow levels--around 2000-2500 feet--
but moisture is lacking with this system and snow accumulations
should be light for most areas.  On Wednesday, the GFS and ECMWF
differ upstream with the longwave ridge off the eastern Pacific as
the ECMWF retrogrades the ridge with the axis along 140W while the
GFS maintains it position with the axis along 130W.  The ECMWF keeps
a cold northerly flow aloft while the GFS advertises a northwest
flow with warmer conditions.  Differences aren't major, as both
would indicate a slight chance of snow in the mountains, but affect
the temperatures and snow levels in Days 6-7. Wister

&&

.AVIATION...00Z TAFs...Rain along the Blue Mountain Foothills and
the eastern half of the Lower Columbia Basin briefly reduced CIGs
and VSBYs to MVFR at KPSC, KALW, and KPDT, but precipitation will
taper off around 02Z-03Z.  CIGS at KALW are forecast to remain MVFR,
but the other TAF sites will observe 4K-6K feet BKN-OVC with higher
clouds above.  The other TAF sites will also have CIGS blo 10K feet
but should remain VFR.  There were a few pilot reports of LLWS at
KRDM, and this was added to the TAFs at KRDM and KBDN until 03Z.
Otherwise, winds will be SW-W 10-20 kts for most of the area.
Wister

&&

.HYDROLOGY...Persistent periods of moderate to heavy rain into the
eastern mountains have caused rapid rises in the the rivers and
streams. The rain will continue tonight before tapering off
tomorrow. Flooding is occurring on many area waterways and water
levels could reach moderate to major stage. The Flood Watch and
several Flood Warnings will continue through Friday. Streams and
rivers on the East Slopes of the Washington Cascades have also
seen rises and the high snow levels and rain will keep the threat
of flooding in this area as well. We will continue the Flood Watch
for this area as well. Several roads in the Elk Meadows area
northwest of Cle Elum have water over them and further rises are
expected with the Flood Warning continuing through Friday for this
area. Cooler air is expected to start to move in Friday night and
then much cooler for Saturday and this should start to decrease
flood threat. 93

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT  47  56  37  48 /  30  20  50  40
ALW  46  57  40  50 /  90  50  60  60
PSC  46  57  41  53 /  30  10  10  20
YKM  38  56  36  51 /  20  10  30  20
HRI  47  58  39  51 /   0  10  20  30
ELN  37  50  32  45 /  50  20  50  30
RDM  39  54  32  42 /  10  10  30  30
LGD  41  48  35  40 /  70  60  70  70
GCD  40  49  33  39 /  30  30  40  70
DLS  47  55  39  47 /  30  10  60  40

&&

.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Flood Watch through Friday morning for ORZ507.

WA...Flood Watch through Friday morning for WAZ029-520.

&&

84/85/85/93

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 6, 5:16 PM PST, 2 hours 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
516 PM PST THU FEB 6 2020

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

0430 PM     HEAVY RAIN       5 NNE LA GRANDE         45.39N 118.07W
02/06/2020  M0.00 INCH       UNION              OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            NEW RAIN NOW AT 1.2 INCHES. STILL RAINING.

&&

RCLOUT
Local storm report, Feb 6, 5:19 PM PST, 2 hours 11 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
519 PM PST THU FEB 6 2020

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

0440 PM     HEAVY RAIN       4 N BINGHAM SPRINGS     45.79N 118.22W
02/06/2020  M1.86 INCH       UMATILLA           OR   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SNOW MELT PLUS RAIN TOTAL OF 1.86 INCHES. 4K FEET AT
            BASKET MOUNTAIN ROAD ON HIGHWAY 204 BETWEEN WESTON AND
            TOLLGATE.

&&

RCLOUT
Local storm report, Feb 6, 6:12 PM PST, 1 hour 18 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
612 PM PST THU FEB 6 2020

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

0500 PM     HEAVY SNOW       19 W NORTH POWDER       45.03N 118.31W
02/06/2020  E32.0 INCH       UNION              OR   PARK/FOREST SRVC

            AT ANTHONY LAKES SKI RESORT IN GRANT COUNTY, SNOWED SINCE
            SUNDAY FEB 2, WITH 32 INCHES TOTAL SNOW SINCE SUNDAY, AND
            12 INCHES IN THE LAST 24 HOURS.

&&

RCLOUT
Local storm report, Feb 6, 6:14 PM PST, 1 hour 16 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
614 PM PST THU FEB 6 2020

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

0300 PM     FLOOD            WESTON                  45.82N 118.43W
02/06/2020                   UMATILLA           OR   NWS EMPLOYEE

            FLOODING OBSERVED ALONG PINE CREEK IN WESTON.

0330 PM     FLOOD            4 SW WALLA WALLA        46.03N 118.40W
02/06/2020                   WALLA WALLA        WA   NWS EMPLOYEE

            SEVERAL STRUCTURES UNDER WATER JUST NORTH OF STATELINE
            ROAD ALONG HIGHWAY 125.

0430 PM     FLOOD            1 E PENDLETON           45.67N 118.80W
02/06/2020                   UMATILLA           OR   NWS EMPLOYEE

            FLOODING REPORTED ALONG THE UMATILLA RIVER IN THE
            RIVERSIDE ESTATES SUBDIVISION WITH MULTIPLE HOMES
            INUNDATED. HIGHWAY 11 ON THE EAST SIDE OF PENDLETON ALSO
            OVERRUN WITH WATER.

&&

MAUSTIN
Local storm report, Feb 6, 6:51 PM PST, 39 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
651 PM PST THU FEB 6 2020

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

0430 PM     FLOOD            5 E CAYUSE              45.68N 118.45W
02/06/2020                   UMATILLA           OR   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            HIGH WATER RESCUE IN PROGRESS WITH PEOPLE TRAPPED ON THE
            ROOF OF THEIR HOME NEAR GIBBON ON THORN HOLLOW ROAD.

&&

MAUSTIN

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Walla Walla

When
February 6, 7:30 PM PST to February 9, 7:00 AM PST
Where
Walla Walla County, Touchet to Walla Walla
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Property damage
$8.8 million
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
46.030, -118.670

Record high water levels were seen on Upper Mill Creek with extensive damage along upper Mill Creek to homes as well as roads and bridges. A number of residents had to be evacuated via helicopter or 4 wheeler. There was minimal damage along Mill Creek through Walla Walla as water was diverted through the Mill Creek Flood Project. Downstream of Walla Walla, there was damaging flooding in College Place with a bridge being washed out near Wallula Road. In Waitsburg, flood waters from both the Touchet River and Coppei Creek inundated the town as levees were damaged. 60 homes were damaged as well as numerous roads and bridges. Damage countywide is estimated at 8.77 million dollars. Walla Walla nr Touchet Flood stage is 13.0 feet. The river rose above flood stage on February 6th at 730 pm, crested at 20.26 feet on February 7th at 445 pm, then fell below flood stage on February 9, 7 am. Major flooding occurred along the Walla Walla River from the headwaters through Milton Freewater to the confluence with the Columbia River. There was extensive damage to roads, bridges and damage to levees through Milton- Freewater. There was widespread flooding of pastures from Milton Freewater to the mouth, with portions of Highway 12 covered by water.

Flood, Columbia

When
February 6, 7:30 PM PST to February 9, 7:00 AM PST
Where
Columbia County, 5 mi SW of Dayton to 5 mi S of Dayton
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
Emergency Manager
Coordinates
46.269, -118.054

The North Fork and main Fork of the Touchet River as well as Coppei Creek and the Tuccanon River saw major flooding with numerous roads, bridges and home affected. 19 roads were closed, 21 bridges have moderate to severe damage, 144 homes were damaged and over 500 minor structures ( culverts, smaller bridges) affected. No dollar estimate at this time.

Flood, Yakima

When
February 7, 4:00 AM PST to 11:30 PM PST
Where
Yakima County, Cliffdell to 2 mi E of Cliffdell
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
46.930, -121.070

Naches near Clifdell- Flood stage is 31.0 feet. The river rose above flood stage on February 7th, 4am, crested at 31.4 feet on February 7th at 1145 am, then fell below flood stage on February 7th at 1130 pm. Minor flooding was observed in low areas along river.

Flood, Yakima

When
February 7, 4:00 AM PST to February 8, 4:30 AM PST
Where
Yakima County, 1 mi SSE of Naches to 1 mi WSW of Naches
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
46.717, -120.692

Naches near Naches- Flood stage is 17.8 feet. The river rose above flood stage on February 7, 4 am, crested at 18.6 feet on February 7th at 130 pm, then fell below flood stage on February 8th at 430 am. Minor flooding was observed in low areas along river.

Flood, Yakima

When
February 7, 8:00 PM PST to February 8, 4:00 PM PST
Where
Yakima County, Parker to 2 mi N of Parker
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
River/Stream Gage
Coordinates
46.500, -120.470

Yakima near Parker Flood stage is 10.0 feet. The river rose above flood stage on February 7th, 8 pm, crested at 10.4 feet on February 8th, 245 am, then fell below flood stage on February 8th, 6pm. Minor flooding was observed in low areas along river.

What these are

Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 2020

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: 871995, 872000, 872001, 872002, 872003.