Clearing skies and high pressure overhead allowed for radiative cooling processes to take over and cool the eastern Columbia River Gorge to below freezing across much of the zone.
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The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.
Clearing skies and high pressure overhead allowed for radiative cooling processes to take over and cool the eastern Columbia River Gorge to below freezing across much of the zone.
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 Nov 18, 9:51 PM PST, 1 hour 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pendleton OR 951 PM PST Tue Nov 18 2025 .Updated for Aviation .AVIATION... 06Z TAFS...An area of cloudiness extended from east of PSC through PDT and southwest to east of BDN and RDM. There were a few embedded -SHRA in the clouds. These clouds will continue moving east with clearing behind as high pressure moves into the region. VFR conditions and light winds are expected through Wednesday. Clouds will being to increase by the end of the period as the next system approaches Wednesday night. && .PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 259 PM PST Tue Nov 18 2025/ UPDATED AVIATION...00Z TAFs...Low CIGs have cleared out of KRDM/KBDN from this late morning, leaving all sites at VFR with light winds. Otherwise, mid to high clouds will prevail throughout the TAF period. Feaster/97 PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 209 PM PST Tue Nov 18 2025/ KEY POINTS... 1. High mountain precipitation, low elevation dry 2. Cold overnight temperatures with patchy fog/freezing fog 3. Active weather will return late in the week DISCUSSION...Current satellite shows a layer of mid level clouds hovering over the easter portion of the CWA keeping the Ochoco- John Day Highlands eastwards overcast. A layer of high level clouds have moved over the vast majority of the CWA this afternoon as well. Models are showing a dry air slot will push in behind these clouds bringing dry and cold conditions to the majority of the region with some high mountain rain. Today through Thursday afternoon...The remainder of the day will continue to be dry with only the high elevations of the Cascades seeing any form of precipitation as the trough continues to meander over the region. With the dry cold air filtering into the region from the NW, overnight temperatures will dip into at or below freezing range with 60-80% of the raw ensembles showing much of central/north central OR, Ochoco-John Day Highlands, the Gorge, foothills of the Blues, Simcoe Highlands and portions of the eastern slopes of the Cascades seeing temperatures below freezing. With that said, a FREEZE WARNING has been issued for the OR and WA portions of the Gorge for freezing temperatures starting tonight at 11 PM and continuing through Wednesday morning at 10 AM. Along with the cold temperatures, there is roughly 30% probabilities that there will be patchy fog across portions of the region that remain above freezing and freezing fog in areas that drop below. A brief trough Wednesday afternoon will continue to keep the lower elevations dry with continued light high mountain precipitation ahead of the next incoming system. Wednesday night models show the leading edge of the next trough beginning to push its way onshore. By Wednesday afternoon, mountain showers will begin and with the cooler air from today ahead of this next system, models show snow levels will drop to below 3500 feet in the far northern WA Cascades and 4500 feet across the remaining Cascades through tonight and continue through tomorrow. This next system will bring in some moisture allowing some light precipitation to fall along the Cascades before spreading across central OR and the eastern mountains. However, models do show this system to be relatively dry with only 0.01(over the eastern mountains) up to 0.05 inches (over the WA Cascades) of QPF available and only 60% probabilities of 0.10 inches of snow falling along the Snoqualmie corridor through Thursday morning and very light snow over the eastern mountains as another brief ridge drys the area out ahead of the next incoming trough. Thursday night onwards...Models show an upper level elongated low off the coast of Canada slithering its way southward bringing with it SW flow aloft and a weak AR. However, clusters are showing there to be some difference with the timing of the separating low and trough. Thursday eyeing, a few models (GFS/Can) show the low to serrate from the trough ans swing south towards California and an elongated trough moves over the Cascades while the remaining models have the system still as one (ECMWF/NAM). Regardless, ensembles and models alike show this will bring back increased probabilities of precipitation across the WA Cascades, Blues and the Wallowas. CB/90 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... PDT 31 48 31 47 / 10 0 10 10 ALW 34 48 35 47 / 10 0 10 20 PSC 30 48 32 50 / 0 0 0 0 YKM 29 50 32 51 / 0 0 0 0 HRI 31 48 33 49 / 0 0 0 10 ELN 27 46 30 47 / 0 0 10 0 RDM 22 51 27 49 / 0 0 20 10 LGD 29 51 34 51 / 10 0 10 20 GCD 31 55 34 51 / 10 0 10 20 DLS 34 50 39 52 / 0 0 30 20 && .PDT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OR...Freeze Warning until 10 AM PST Wednesday for ORZ041. WA...Freeze Warning until 10 AM PST Wednesday for WAZ024. && SHORT TERM...90 LONG TERM....90 AVIATION...77
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
Various mesonet and Oregon Department of Transportation stations as well as the ASOS at the Dalles Municipal Airport reported sub-freezing temperatures for several hours between 2am and 8am.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, November 2025
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: 1302153.