An trailing upper level trough pushed a frontal system throughout western Washington with heavy mountain snow at times along with cooler temps in the lowlands and rain, and breezy conditions at times.
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 SEW wrote it up.
An trailing upper level trough pushed a frontal system throughout western Washington with heavy mountain snow at times along with cooler temps in the lowlands and rain, and breezy conditions at times.
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 Seattle, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 5, 9:19 PM PST, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Seattle WA 919 PM PST Tue Mar 5 2024 .UPDATE...Generally clear skies across much of western Washington this evening with upslope cloud cover along the Olympics and eastern Olympic Peninsula. A weak surface cold front will move towards the area tonight into Wednesday morning, perhaps leading to a few rain and snow showers, mainly along the Olympic Peninsula and San Juan Islands, but any activity is expected to be brief and light. Otherwise, patchy fog and cold temperatures in the mid to upper 20s tonight. No major forecast updates this evening. && .SYNOPSIS...Generally dry conditions will prevail through Thursday with high pressure building over the Pacific Northwest. Wet conditions will return by the end of the week as a series of troughs cross the region. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/...A cool and dry airmass will continue to push into western Washington from the north today, allowing for mostly clear skies and light winds. While temperatures will continue to stay well below normal, the lowlands will see highs in the mid 40s. A weak surface cold front will push inland overnight and into the early morning, triggering light snow showers over the Olympic Peninsula. Any accumulation is most favored over the eastern and northern slopes of the Cascades, with a low (10 to 20 percent) chance of up to an inch of snow over the San Juan Islands and far western Whatcom and Skagit Counties through Wednesday morning. Low temperatures will bottom out below freezing for all areas, so areas of ice will once again be a concern around any heavier showers that develop early Wednesday morning. Light shower activity will continue through the afternoon before tapering off as ridging builds inland into the Pacific Northwest. A stacked low will amplify over the Gulf of Alaska towards the end of the week, spreading a large moisture plume towards the Pacific coast on Thursday and Friday. The majority of the moisture from this system will be limited to the Olympic Peninsula through Friday, but the lowlands and Cascades will see light shower activity through Friday. Strong southerly flow aloft will allow temperatures to warm up and return to normal by Friday. .LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...A series of much wetter systems is on track to pass over the region over the weekend and into next week, with temperatures hovering right around normal. While deterministic models continue to show widespread heavier precipitation holding off until Saturday, ensembles still bring in the precipitation on Friday. Another wave of heavy precipitation will quickly follow this initial push, with little to no time in between for conditions to dry out. Forecast certainty decreases beyond the weekend, but active and wet conditions are on track to continue through the first half of next week. && .AVIATION...Upper level trough to the east with weak upper level ridge nosing into British Columbia giving northwesterly flow aloft over Western Washington. Light flow in the lower levels. Weak front moving through the area Wednesday. Clear skies overnight with increasing middle level clouds Wednesday morning. Patchy fog 09z-17z with ceilings below 200 feet and visibility below 1 sm. Felton KSEA...Clear skies overnight with increasing middle level clouds Wednesday morning. Patchy fog in the vicinity of the airport 12z-17z. North northeast wind 4 to 8 knots becoming light southerly 18z-21z. Felton && .MARINE...Generally light winds and seas with northerly/offshore flow into Wednesday. A weak system will affect area waters Wednesday night followed by a series of systems starting Friday, with the strongest winds - increasing southerly winds ahead of a front. Active weather will linger into the weekend, with periods of winds and building seas especially over the coastal waters. && .HYDROLOGY...Strong, moist, S/SW flow will bring periods of heavy rain along the Olympics and Cascades early next week with rising rivers. Flooding possible on the Skokomish River in Mason County. && .SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...None. PZ...None. &&
2 winter weather, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A record low temperature of 21 degrees was set at Olympia, WA airport on March 6th, which ties the old record of 21 degrees in 1975.
A record low temperature of 22 was set at Olympia Airport on March 7th, which ties the old record of 22 set in 1974.
A Winter Storm Warning was posted for the Cascades of Whatcom and Skagit county - where according to a NWAC station between the morning hours of March 10th and into the late afternoon of March 11th around 12 to 16 inches of snow fell at Mount Baker.
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, March 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: 1170558, 1170559, 1170555.