A slow moving system started to impact the region on November 4 and lasted through November 7. It brought early season widespread snow and high winds to Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle.
Every event with a place to put it; 21 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.
A slow moving system started to impact the region on November 4 and lasted through November 7. It brought early season widespread snow and high winds to Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. Cocorahs observers reported 13 to 20 inches of snow for the Cascades, 14 to 25 inches for the Northern portions of the Okanogan Highlands, and 4 to 10 inches for the through the Spokane Metro area for the 4-7 of Nov.
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 Nov 3, 1:33 AM PST, 5 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
233 AM PDT Thu Nov 3 2022
.SYNOPSIS....
A significant early winter storm is expected to move in tonight
into the weekend. The winter storm will bring heavy wet snow
tonight night into Friday followed by strong winds Friday night
into Saturday morning. A much colder weather pattern will bring
accumulating snow to the Inland NW next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
..First lowland snowfall of the season with heavy snow in the
mountains expected Thursday night into Friday morning followed up
with strong winds Friday night and Saturday morning...
Today through Saturday: Cold conditionally unstable airmass nested
in an upper level trof over the area has allowed for some snow
showers into the morning hours and will translate slowly east. The
west edge of this trof will exit into Northwest Montana during the
day today as positively tilted ridging, with substantial moisture
streaming through it, sags into Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
As such the persistent flow and/or instability in the area will keep
some minor pops for hit and miss snow showers. A warm front with a
well maintained tap of moisture extending to the southwest is
then expected to sag into this northwest flow on the west side of
the positively tilted ridge and spread rain and snow from
northwest to southeast Thursday night. As earlier shifts noted
this timing allows for colder air at low levels for this warm
front to overrun and thus the forecast continues to call for the
first significant widespread snowfall of the season with heavy
snow in the mountains expected Thursday night into Friday morning.
This is followed up with the ridge flattening and the jet stream
positioned overhead allowing for very windy conditions primarily
Friday night that continues on into at least Saturday as the jet
stream slowly sags some to the south. This will also allow for a
rain shadow of sorts to manifest itself between the Cascades and
North Idaho with lower pops between the two Friday night into
Saturday. Messaging noting the problematic impacts of the first
widespread snow and strong winds overlapping for a spell include
power outages, tree damage..etc.. remains a topic for webpage
weatherstories, social media accounts, briefings..etc.. /Pelatti
Sunday through Thursday:
*Short Summary*
A trough will move down from the Gulf of Alaska.
The period will remain unsettled with rain/ snow at times
Sunday/Monday and then periods of snow the remainder of the
forecast. Very cold Canadian air will move into the region and
drop our temperatures to 15 degrees below average or more. Sunday
will remain fairly warm with highs in the 30s to mid 40s. But lows
through the period will be in the teens and 20s. Some of the
northern valleys come Tuesday and Wednesday morning could see
single digits. Monday through Wed high temps will be in the mid
20s to mid 30s.
*Things to think about: With these abrupt cold temperatures
descending down on us, are we prepared? Sprinklers blown out?
Hoses unhooked? Animals have blankets or their enclosures
winterized? Pulled out the parkas, hats, gloves and scarves for
your family?
*Sunday/Monday Storm*
-Upper Basin/Waterville Plateau/Northern WA & North ID Panhandle
snow potential Sunday/Monday:
Significant snowfall accumulations are possible in these areas.
Cold air advection from the incoming arctic front plus south and
east 700-850 mb winds will provide orographic lifting in the areas
mentioned. Soundings look fairly healthy for many hours of light
to moderate snowfall in this region. Uncertainties remain high
regarding low level thermodynamic details for valley areas such as
Wenatchee and Omak at this time but with QPF around 0.75 to 1.00
inch, colder air in place in the valleys would allow for
significant accumulations.
-Spokane/Palouse/Camas Prairie snow potential Sunday/Monday + winds
Mon/Tues:
This area is quite complex given the delicacy of the dynamics at
play. ECMWF 18Z control 850 mb temps warm above freezing for
several hours Sunday evening, but that is above the 75th
percentile among the ensemble members. 75 percent of the ECMWF
ensemble members never bring the 850 mb temperatures above 0C.
90th percentile ECMWF 850 mb temperatures stay below 0 through
noon Monday. GFS 00Z control run has 850 mb temps below 0C all
Sunday night but ensembles suggest warming above 0C late Monday
morning as the event concludes. 00Z Canadian control keeps 850 mb
temps below 0C for the whole event but somewhere between 1/2 to
1/4 of the ensemble keeps 850 mb temperatures above 0C for the
whole event. ***In summary, the ECMWF/GFS ensemble is the coldest
Sun evening/Mon and the Canadian is the warmest despite the ECMWF
control running warm at 850 mb.*** GFS control run has gone
bananas with its snow amounts far exceeding the 75th percentile of
the GEFS guidance generating an inch of QPF. Why? GFS shows a
tighter baroclinic zone forming where the arctic front is further
south and there is stronger magnitudes of low level FGEN. This
makes sense given it is the only solution with a closed 850 mb low
over the Palouse Monday morning. The biggest potential failure
mode for snow latitudes in and south of Spokane is lack of arctic
air intruding into N ID/NE WA in when precip is falling.
Confidence remains low in snow amounts around Spokane/Palouse/Camas
Prairie. QPF in the region ranges from 0.10 to 0.5 inches. For
now, snow totals are being kept close a blend of the ensemble
means. Breezy winds look likely through the Purcell Trench and
upper Basin Mon/Tue gusting up to 30 mph look likely behind the
arctic front. Combined with the cold temperatures, it will feel
quite chilly. /DB
&&
.AVIATION...
12Z TAFS: Hit and miss snow showers will linger over the aviation
area a bit into the early morning hours but are not expected to
impact TAF sites. Some stratus and/or fog is expected as well
during the morning hours resulting in some spotty IFR conditions.
A significant early winter storm will move into the aviation area
tonight with snow and rain spreading from northwest to southeast
starting between 0-6Z Friday near KEAT and closer to 6Z elsewhere
with this rain and snow producing IFR conditions at times.
/Pelatti
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane 40 32 50 34 46 26 / 0 90 80 60 20 20
Coeur d'Alene 40 33 47 36 45 26 / 0 90 100 90 30 30
Pullman 38 32 47 35 45 25 / 0 90 90 90 40 40
Lewiston 45 37 52 44 52 33 / 0 80 100 90 60 40
Colville 43 23 46 23 45 14 / 10 100 90 50 10 10
Sandpoint 40 30 43 34 42 23 / 10 100 100 90 30 30
Kellogg 38 31 45 35 42 28 / 10 90 100 100 50 50
Moses Lake 45 34 56 36 51 25 / 10 50 50 30 10 10
Wenatchee 46 36 53 37 46 29 / 10 70 70 40 20 10
Omak 45 33 49 33 51 24 / 20 80 70 40 10 10
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Winter Storm Watch from this evening through Friday afternoon
for Central Panhandle Mountains-Northern Panhandle.
WA...Winter Storm Watch from this evening through Friday afternoon
for Northeast Mountains.
Winter Storm Watch from this afternoon through Saturday morning
for Western Okanogan County.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 heavy snow, 5 high wind, 1 strong wind, 1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Observer reported 8.5 inches of snow North of Republic. Ferry County saw a range of 6 to 8 inches. The Okanogan Highlands in Okanogan County saw a range of 4 to 8 inches of snow.
Loup Loup Pass area reported 9.5 inches of snow. Methow Valley had estimated reports of 8 inches.
Observer reported 9.3 inches of snow.
An estimated 7 inches of snow reported near Coles Corner.
Observer reported 6 inches of snow in Tonasket.
Observer reported 6.8 inches of snow 6 miles Northwest of Diamond Lake. Southern Stevens and Pend Oreille Counties had a 4 to 7 inch range of snow. Northern portions of the counties had 4 to 5 inches.
Station recorded gust of 66 MPH.
Station DW6220 reported a gust of 74 MPH. Powerlines were knocked down.
KDEW reported at gust of 44 MPH at 0153LST. Winds Knocked down over Hwy 2 3 miles South of Milan.
Station recorded a gusts of 66 MPH. Social media reports showed several trees down in the Spokane Valley area. Trees damaged several homes and vehicles. Spokane International Airport recorded a gust of 54 MPH.
Station Adfw1 reported gust of 82 MPH.
Station Tum42 recorded a gust of 59 MPH.
Leavenworth had an estimated 6 inches between 0000-1000LST Nov 4.
Observer reported 11.8 inches of snow Southeast of Twisp. The Methow Valley received 9 to 15 inches of snow with an estimated 14 inches at Carlton, 12 inches at Winthrop, and 10 inches toward Mazama.
Observer reported an estimated 7.5 inches fell in Leavenworth.
Observer reported 20 inches of snow Northwest of Malott. The Okanogan Valley including Bridgeport saw a range of snow from 9 to 18 inches. Wind speeds in the teens could have affected the measurements.
Observer estimated 7 inches of snow.
A 24 hour snowfall total of 20.8 inches was reported 21 miles Southeast of Tonasket. Another report of 14.2 was reported 7 miles East of Tonasket. Several reports of 6 to 10 inches were received along Hwy 20 and Hwy 21 North of Republic during the event.
Observer reported 8 near Marcus. A range of 4 to 7 inches across Northeast WA.
Observer 5 miles Northwest of Ardenvoir reported 8.7 inches of snow.
Sleet and freezing temperatures created icy roadways for evening commute along I-90. Two semis jackknifed blocking travel Eastbound near Francher.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, November 2022
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: 1067687, 1067702, 1067667, 1067668, 1067707, 1067794, 1067627, 1067629, 1067641, 1067628, 1067631, 1067630, 1067678, 1067853, 1067829, 1067851, 1067670, 1067860, 1067861, 1067677, 1067868.