A cold northwest flow aloft in combination with a low pressure system undercutting an offshore ridge resulted in several bands of heavy snow developing across the inland Pacific Northwest from central Oregon to the Kittitas valley in Washington between Feb. 14th and the morning of the 16th.
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 PDT wrote it up.
A cold northwest flow aloft in combination with a low pressure system undercutting an offshore ridge resulted in several bands of heavy snow developing across the inland Pacific Northwest from central Oregon to the Kittitas valley in Washington between Feb. 14th and the morning of the 16th.
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, 3:37 PM PST, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
337 PM PST Wed Feb 14 2024
.Updated Aviation Discussion.
.SHORT TERM...Tonight through Friday...As a winter system moves
into the region, forecasting it has been difficult due to the
interaction of warm and cold air keeping the region near freezing.
Central Oregon has of note significantly resisted warming up
likely thanks to colder air aloft plus cooling from falling
precipitation. Areas such as Redmond briefly got to 34, but it was
short lived and snow continues to fall. This colder air has
enhanced the amount of snowfall that has been seen, but have kept
this zone in an advisory rather than a warning as the bulk of the
heaviest activity continues to the west closer to the mountains,
but the delineation is, as always for this area, quite thin.
Meanwhile, this cold may also allow for rise in snowy conditions
across the Columbia Gorge and along the slopes of the Washington
Cascades. Still expecting a wide swath of possible snowfall
amounts for the Gorge, with areas closest to the mountains seeing
nearly 6-8 inches, while areas further east may only see an inch
or so. Much of the rest of the region shouldn't see drastic
changes to snowfall amounts, but expect at least a small uptick
compared the overnight forecast.
The path of the low will take the upper low northwards along the
coastline before it merges with stronger flow to the north and
then moves eastwards. Overnight lows at or below freezing
widespread tonight, with highs on Thursday maybe reaching near 40
degrees before colder air continues to overspread in the
aftermath of this system, with overnight lows by Friday morning
widespread below 30 degrees. Similar conditions possible Friday
into Saturday as high pressure builds and shifts eastwards.
Goatley/87
.LONG TERM...Saturday through Wednesday...The extended period is
characterized by a deep, upper level trough that slowly approaches
the coast over the weekend, before pushing onshore along the
California coast and weakening through the beginning part of the
workweek. Persistent southwest flow aloft associated with this
system will promote a warming trend through the period, as two
shortwaves (Saturday and Monday) bring widespread precipitation
chances to the area. These are the only two sensible weather
concerns through the long-term, with minimal precipitation amounts
expected as temperatures slowly approaching normal values by
Tuesday.
The transitory ridge that built over the region on Friday will
continue to push east and weaken Saturday as an upper level
shortwave approaches the northern California coast and moves into
the Inland Northwest from our south. This feature will bring
widespread showers across the area, impacting Central Oregon through
the late afternoon before extending through South Central Washington
overnight and into Sunday morning. Moisture associated with this
shortwave will be lacking by the time it reaches our area, as the
Integrated Water Vapor Transport (IVT) incurs a southwest trajectory
near the San Francisco area before becoming more from the south into
Southern Oregon. This translates to decreasing precipitation amounts
south-to-north, with lower elevation rain amounts staying below
0.10". Snow levels will be quite variable with ranges from 2500-4500
feet across North Central Oregon to 500-2500 feet through South
Central Washington with a north-to-south gradient. Snow levels will
be increasing through the event, eventually reaching between 2500-
3500 feet across South Central Washington and 3500-5000 feet for
North Central Washington by Sunday afternoon. Snow amounts across
our mountain zones will also be minimal, with only 1-3 inches
expected above 4000 feet along the Cascade and Blue Mountains
through Sunday afternoon.
Another transitory ridge builds in the wake of the quickly departing
shortwave on Sunday, confining precipitation at elevation over our
mountain zones by the afternoon as the offshore trough deepens and
approaches the Northern California coast. This will shift flow aloft
to more from the south, further inhibiting moisture transport
associated with a second shortwave on Monday. This will again
provide widespread precipitation chances (15-40%) across the area
with the majority of lower elevations staying dry. Snow levels will
continue to trend upward and into the 3500-5500 foot range north-to-
south as around an inch of snowfall is expected above 4000 feet. The
trough moves onshore along the California coast Tuesday and quickly
weakens as it continues east into Nevada and Utah on Wednesday,
allowing for mainly zonal flow to occur across the Pacific
Northwest. This will keep most of the area dry as light upslope
showers will be possible along higher elevations of the Cascade and
Blue Mountains. High temperatures will break into the low 50s for
lower elevations of the Basin and Central Oregon Tuesday and
Wednesday, with low temperatures in the low to mid 30s Wednesday
morning.
Guidance is in good agreement with the overall pattern of a deep
trough approaching the coast and pushing onshore through the early
part of the workweek, coupled with two shortwaves that will allow
for increased rain chances Saturday and Monday. However, minor
differences in shortwave strength and trough location arise, as the
500 mb EOF patterns highlight a 70% ensemble variance regarding the
Saturday shortwave and a 35-45% ensemble variance associated with
the trough strength and location. The GFS suggests weaker shortwaves
with a later, stronger, and further south trough location than the
ECMWF, which correlates to a slightly warmer and drier outcome with
the GFS. Ensemble clusters provide additional confidence in the
ECMWF scenario as ensembles are more in-line with one another and
more representative of the deterministic solution. Thus, there is
moderate confidence (60-70%) in stronger shortwaves Saturday and
Monday and an earlier onshore push of the parent upper level trough,
resulting in a slow increase in temperatures over the period and
widespread precipitation chances both Saturday and Monday. 75
&&
.AVIATION...00Z TAFS...VFR conditions currently across most sites,
with KDLS recently dropping to MVFR conditions due to reduced
ceilings of OVC028 and LIFR conditions at KRDM/KBDN due to reduced
visibilities and ceilings of 1/2SM and OVC003-005 respectively.
These conditions are a result of a weather system impacting the
region from the south, allowing for widespread precipitation to
occur and transition to snow late tonight into Thursday morning. All
sites are expected to degrade to at least IFR conditions due to rain
transitioning to snow, with LIFR likely for KRDM/KBDN/KALW/KPDT with
visibilities around 1SM and ceilings of OVC002-004. Conditions should
improve by late morning for all sites except KRDM/KBDN, as fog
develops to reduce visibilities back down to 1/4SM. 75
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
PDT 30 34 25 35 / 90 90 60 10
ALW 31 36 26 37 / 70 80 60 20
PSC 33 38 29 41 / 80 80 30 10
YKM 30 37 24 39 / 80 60 20 10
HRI 32 38 27 39 / 90 80 40 10
ELN 28 34 23 37 / 60 60 10 10
RDM 25 42 25 35 / 50 60 70 10
LGD 30 42 27 41 / 100 80 80 20
GCD 32 42 30 45 / 80 80 70 10
DLS 32 37 30 37 / 100 80 60 20
&&
.PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
OR...Winter Weather Advisory until 4 AM PST Friday for ORZ041-502.
Winter Storm Warning until 4 AM PST Friday for ORZ508>510.
Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM PST Thursday for ORZ511.
WA...Winter Weather Advisory until 4 AM PST Friday for WAZ024-030-
521>523.
&&
SHORT TERM...87
LONG TERM....75
AVIATION...75PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
151 PM PST WED FEB 14 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0140 PM SNOW 2 W BEND 44.06N 121.36W
02/14/2024 M0.0 INCH DESCHUTES OR TRAINED SPOTTER
3.5 INCHES OF SNOW SINCE 10 AM AND STILL SNOWING.
0145 PM SNOW 2 SSW CAMP SHERMAN 44.44N 121.66W
02/14/2024 M0.0 INCH JEFFERSON OR TRAINED SPOTTER
4 INCHES OF SNOW AND STILL SNOWING.
&&
JOE.SOLOMONPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
321 PM PST Wed Feb 14 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0200 PM Snow 3 NNE Bend 44.11N 121.29W
02/14/2024 E4.0 inch Deschutes OR Public
4 inches of new snow since this morning.
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
325 PM PST Wed Feb 14 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0322 PM Snow 4 W Bend 44.07N 121.41W
02/14/2024 M5.5 inch Deschutes OR Public
&&Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
414 PM PST Wed Feb 14 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0413 PM Snow Maupin 45.17N 121.09W
02/14/2024 M2.0 inch Wasco OR Trained Spotter
2 inches since this morning and still
snowing.
&&
mcwPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
420 PM PST Wed Feb 14 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0419 PM Snow 1 SSE Deschutes River W 43.97N 121.35W
02/14/2024 M4.5 inch Deschutes OR Trained Spotter
Since 8:30 AM.
&&
mcwPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Pendleton OR
458 PM PST Wed Feb 14 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0457 PM Snow Redmond 44.26N 121.17W
02/14/2024 E3.5 inch Deschutes OR Public
3.5 inches of new snow since this morning.
Social media report.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter 3 miles south of White Swan reported 6 inches of new snow in a 5 hour period ending at 0328 PST on Feb. 15th. A public report via Facebook at 0845 PST on Feb. 15th indicated 4 inches of new snow had fallen in West Valley.
A Cocorahs observer in White Salmon reported 7 inches of new snow at 0700 PST on Feb. 15th.
A social media report 6 miles northeast of White Salmon at 0900 PST on Feb. 15 indicated 11 inches of new snow had fallen since the morning of the 14th. A social media report at 0700 PST on Feb. 15th indicated 8 inches of new snow had fallen 12 miles northeast of Bingen.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, February 2024
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: 1164646, 1164644, 1164645.