Heavy Snow affected the Blue Mountain Foothills of WA February 14-15.
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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.
Heavy Snow affected the Blue Mountain Foothills of WA February 14-15.
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 14, 1:31 PM PST, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
131 PM PST Sun Feb 14 2021
.SHORT TERM...Tonight through Tuesday. Water vapor satellite
imagery showing another large storm moving into the Pacific
northwest. This will result in additional snowfall today and
Monday with the mountains receiving snow into Tuesday. The leading
edge of the deeper moisture has overspread the region today with
light snow for most locations. This will increase overnight into
Mon morning as a frontal boundary moves through with stronger
omega. Expect a period of light to moderate snowfall. Central
Oregon showing signs of gradual warming today and this will
continue overnight. This could result in some sleet or freezing
rain. Precipitation should taper off by afternoon for the Columbia
basin and central Oregon. However the upper trough with strong
northwest upslope flow will maintain steady snow over the Cascades
and Blues through Tue. Significant snow amounts are expected.
Temperatures will start to moderate a little each day with highs
into the 30s and 40s. This system will also bring increased
westerly winds Mon and Tue with 10-25 mph likely. 94
.LONG TERM...Tuesday evening through Sunday...Active weather and
a gradual warm-up in the extended period as a series of upper
level disturbances move across the region. Model guidance in
fairly good agreement through the extended period with general
trend in weather, though some slight differences in general
synoptic progression and timing into the weekend.
Ridging over the eastern Pacific and troughing over the Great
Plains will place the region under an upslope northwest flow
Tuesday evening, producing mainly snow in the Cascades and eastern
mountains. Snow in these areas will diminish overnight Tuesday
into Wednesday morning as ridge axis pushes east into the PacNW.
Wednesday will be a mostly dry day with partly to mostly cloudy
skies over the forecast area. Upper level ridge over the region
will then flatten overnight Wednesday in response to an upper
level shortwave trough and leading surface front approaching the
forecast area. Leading frontal system will help to push some
warmer/moist Pacific air east of the OR Cascades Thursday. That
said, cold air trapped in the Columbia Basin and along the east
slopes of the WA Cascades will keep snow levels low enough that
most of the WA forecast area will still see snow through Thursday
night, and portions of the Columbia Basin in OR and the foothills
of the Blues will see snow transition to rain/snow mix through the
afternoon. Precipitation will diminish across the Basin overnight
Thursday into Friday afternoon with snow continuing in the
mountains. Overnight Friday, models indicate another upper level
low feature approaching the forecast area that would bring another
round of mountain snow and a return of lower elevation rain.
Beyond Saturday, northwest flow aloft will setup over the region
with a weak shortwave passing over the forecast area Sunday and
producing mainly mountain snow.
With return of onshore flow over the region and several systems
pushing a Pacific airmass east of the Cascades, temperatures will
continue to moderate into the weekend with afternoon highs in the
40s and morning lows near freezing by Friday. Lawhorn/82
&&
.AVIATION...00Z TAFs...IFR and below conditions will continue
across most of the northern TAF sites through the TAF period,
while sites YKM/BDN/RDM are expected to deteriorate to IFR or
lower this evening. Weather system will continue to impact most
sites through tomorrow morning with snow expected across the
northern sites. Freezing rain possible at sites BDN/RDM/DLS
overnight, though turning to rain tomorrow morning. winds will
continue to be light through the evening, then increasing to
10-15kts at sites PDT/RDM/BDN tomorrow morning. Lawhorn/82
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 19 33 30 37 / 100 80 60 30
ALW 22 34 30 37 / 90 90 60 50
PSC 21 32 28 39 / 90 80 30 20
YKM 20 32 23 39 / 90 70 30 20
HRI 21 34 30 41 / 100 80 30 20
ELN 18 30 23 38 / 90 80 50 20
RDM 29 42 28 39 / 90 50 40 30
LGD 28 39 31 36 / 90 90 70 70
GCD 29 40 30 36 / 100 80 60 60
DLS 23 38 35 41 / 100 80 50 30
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Winter Weather Advisory until noon PST Monday for ORZ041-044-508-
510.
Winter Storm Warning until 4 PM PST Tuesday for ORZ049-050-502-
503-506-507-509.
Winter Weather Advisory until noon PST Monday for ORZ505-511.
WA...Winter Weather Advisory until noon PST Monday for WAZ024-026>028-
521.
Winter Storm Warning until 4 PM PST Tuesday for WAZ029-030-520.
&&
SHORT TERM...94
LONG TERM....82
AVIATION...82The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Dayton reported 12 inches of snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 2021
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: 942303.