Washington, 2020

Heavy Snow in Washington, January 13 to 14, 2020

January 13 to 14, 2020 · NWS OTX · 2 events in 1 county or zone

An arctic front briefly dropped down into eastern Washington and north Idaho on January 13th and 14th. Light snow accompanied this frontal passage with generally 1 to 3 inches of snow accumulation around the region.

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 OTX wrote it up.

An arctic front briefly dropped down into eastern Washington and north Idaho on January 13th and 14th. Light snow accompanied this frontal passage with generally 1 to 3 inches of snow accumulation around the region. However the front stalled along the Washington/Oregon border and promoted an extended period of light snow which left a swath of heavier accumulations From the Blue Mountains through the Lewiston, ID area.

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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 13, 2:48 PM PST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 13, 2:48 PM PST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 13, 3:00 PM PST, 1 hour before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 13, 10:01 AM PST, 5 hours 59 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 10:02 AM PST, 5 hours 58 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 10:14 AM PST, 5 hours 46 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 10:18 AM PST, 5 hours 42 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 10:25 AM PST, 5 hours 35 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 13, 3:32 PM PST, 28 minutes before
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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, Northeast Blue Mountains

When
January 13, 4:00 PM PST to January 14, 5:00 PM PST
Where
Northeast Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
46.312, -117.374 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The COOP observer located 14 miles south of Asotin recorded 13.0 inches of snow accumulation form this storm.

Heavy Snow, Northeast Blue Mountains

When
January 13, 4:00 PM PST to January 14, 5:00 PM PST
Where
Northeast Blue Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
Public
Coordinates
46.312, -117.374 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Bluewood Ski Resort reported 22 inches of snow accumulation form this storm.

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 Washington in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 871066, 871067.