A system pushed through Eastern Washington bringing widespread snow showers. Most location received 1 to 3 inches of snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 system pushed through Eastern Washington bringing widespread snow showers. Most location received 1 to 3 inches of snow. There were locally heavier amounts.
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 Feb 27, 10:02 AM PST, 2 hours 18 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 1002 AM PST Mon Feb 27 2023 .SYNOPSIS... The Inland Northwest will remain in an active and unsettled pattern through the next week. Monday through the end of the week will feature cooler than normal temperatures and several rounds of precipitation mainly in the form of snow. Periods of winter travel conditions should be anticipated, especially across the mountain passes. && .DISCUSSION... Monday through Wednesday night: The next system will slide into the region this afternoon, starting off with light snow and increasing in intensity by Tuesday morning. Today: Most of the region will see partly cloudy skies to start the day before the next system moves in. The Idaho Panhandle will be the exception with lingering light snow showers. Drier conditions will be short lived as snow will increase in coverage Monday evening. High temperatures will continue to remain below normal with daytime highs in the 30s for most of the lower elevations and 40s in the LC Valley. Monday night through Tuesday: The next trough will pass over the region this evening, with the chance of snow increasing in coverage by Tuesday morning. The heaviest snow appears to fall around the time of Tuesday morning commute. Daytime highs for Tuesday will hover around 32 degrees, keeping all precipitation as snow. Most lower elevations will see 1 to 4 inches of snow, with higher amounts expected in the mountains. Winds will be breezy Tuesday afternoon with gusts up to 30 mph in the Columbia Basin, Spokane and LC Valley areas. The system will exit the region Tuesday evening with lingering snow showers possible in the Idaho Panhandle for Tuesday night. Wednesday: Wednesday we will see another break in between systems with the possibility of some sunshine poking through the clouds. Light snow showers will impact the Idaho mountains but amounts will remain less than an inch. The next system will slide into the region Wednesday night with the next round of mountain snow. /KM Thursday and Friday: An energetic polar jet steam oriented across the Eastern Pacific into Oregon will drive another shortwave into the region on Thursday. This take on the characteristics of a "clipper system" ushering modest west to northwest flow aloft and focusing a majority of the precipitation along the Cascade Crest, Idaho Panhandle and rising terrain of Eastern WA. Little to no moisture is expected in the lee of the Cascades and across the Central Columbia Basin. The air mass will remain unseasonably cool supporting snow at the dominant p-type but the afternoon timing of this wave suggest impacts could be limited to the mountain passes. Stevens Pass is looking at the potential for another 6" or more of snow with NBM probabilities near 90%. Lookout Pass has a 90% chance for >4" and 50% chance for >6". Amounts within the valleys of North Idaho and eastern third of WA will be lighter ranging from a few tenths to few inches. Latest probabilities for >2" for Sandpoint (90%), Coeur D Alene (70%) and Spokane/Pullman (20%). Upper-levels will cool drastically Thursday night into Friday with 500mb temperatures plummeting from -26C to -33C. Steepening lapse rates and persistent west to northwest flow will allow for numerous orographic showers across the Idaho Panhandle and Cascade Crest and at times, back build into the Palouse. This could lead to several more inches of snow for the Central Panhandle Mountains and Cascade Crest with generally lighter amounts elsewhere. The incoming frontal system on Thursday will also bring a modest push of winds. NAEFS and EPS have captured this well showing 90th percentile 850mb winds on the order of 30-35kts coming across the Cascades, Columbia Basin, and into the lower Idaho Panhandle. This will result in another noticeable gusty afternoon for communities from Wenatchee to Ritzville to Moscow with sustained winds of 10-20 mph and gusts up to 35 mph. A few ensemble members even support a few gusts up to 45 mph over our more typical windier locations in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, upper benches of the Waterville Plateau, and Cascade ridgetops. The strongest push of winds will come through Thursday afternoon and evening; anticipate winds to remain breezy again on Friday but at lighter speeds. Saturday through early next week: There continues to be strong agreement with 100% of the 100 member ensemble package showing another deep low carving into the eastern Pacific basin Saturday then Western US Sunday into early next week. Main differences advertised at this time relate how far south the Polar jet will carve into California thus confidence is extremely high for below normal temperatures across the Inland Northwest throughout the period. As for snow: as the system is coming onshore, there is a medium to high chance (60-70%) for pieces of energy to bring bands of snow to Eastern WA and North Idaho, some which could be slow moving and deliver light to moderate snow amounts. Details in location and amounts are far from certain at this time and are likely to shift around from run to run. Once the low is established inland, main snow chances will come from hit or miss showers but a low probability for any significant impacts. The screaming message is that winter is not done with us yet so keep those jackets handy and be prepared periods of winter travel conditions. /sb && .AVIATION... 18Z TAFS: VFR conditions will prevail into the afternoon at most sites with high clouds beginning to enter the region ahead of the next weather system. Light snow showers will be possible this afternoon around KEAT/KMWH, but the main bands of snow looks to move in from the southwest this evening and overnight. When snow begins initially around the Cascades this afternoon, expect conditions to become MVFR first around KEAT/KMWH and then becoming widespread IFR and LIFR mainly after 06Z as the heavier band of snow begins to move in. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 36 26 34 16 33 26 / 30 80 70 20 0 20 Coeur d'Alene 36 25 35 15 34 24 / 20 80 90 20 0 20 Pullman 37 27 35 20 33 24 / 30 60 50 20 10 10 Lewiston 44 30 43 27 41 29 / 20 30 30 20 10 10 Colville 32 23 35 17 34 22 / 30 70 80 20 0 20 Sandpoint 33 26 33 18 34 26 / 30 80 100 30 10 40 Kellogg 35 27 33 16 34 25 / 20 80 90 20 20 20 Moses Lake 37 25 38 20 37 26 / 50 40 30 10 0 10 Wenatchee 28 23 34 18 35 24 / 60 50 30 20 0 10 Omak 30 24 33 18 32 22 / 50 60 40 20 0 10 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Observer estimated 10 inches of snow near Conconully.
Observer near Diamond Lake recorded 7.5 inches. Other reports ranged from 5 to 7 inches including Clayton, Milan, and Tum Tum.
Observer reported 7.2 inches 3 miles NW of Spokane. Other reports in the ranged from 5 to 8 inches. AN estimate of 8.5 inches was reported near Mead.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 2023
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: 1082873, 1082872, 1082861.