On January 6th a moist warm front passed through eastern Washington bringing heavy snow accumulations to the East Slopes of the Cascades and the Northeast Mountains. In the Okanogan Highlands generally 1 to 3 inches of accumulation fell.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
On January 6th a moist warm front passed through eastern Washington bringing heavy snow accumulations to the East Slopes of the Cascades and the Northeast Mountains. In the Okanogan Highlands generally 1 to 3 inches of accumulation fell.
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 5, 10:07 PM PST, 2 hours 53 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html><!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The COOP observer at Holden Village recorded 18.8 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.
The COOP observer at Mazama recorded 9.4 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.
The COOP observer at Plain recorded 12.0 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.
The Stevens Pass Ski Resort reported 18 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.
Heavy wet snow caused numerous downed trees along Highway 2 leading to the closure of this road between Stevens Pass and Coles Corner.
Heavy wet snow caused numerous downed trees along Highway 2 leading to the closure of this road between Stevens Pass and Coles Corner.
A member of the public at Cusick reported 5.0 inches of snow from this storm.
The COOP observer at Boundary Dam reported 8.0 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.
The COOP observer at Newport reported 7.5 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.
The COOP observer at Northport reported 6.8 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.
A weather spotter at Metaline Falls reported 4.0 inches of snow from this storm.
An observer near Clayton reported 4.1 inches of snow from this storm.
An observer near Diamond Lake recorded 7.0 inches of snow from this storm.
The Mount Spokane Ski Resort reported 14 inches of snow from this storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 870765, 870766, 870768, 870778, 870781, 870782, 870769, 870776, 870806, 870807, 870808, 870809, 870810, 870811.