Winter Storm — Western Chelan County, Washington

2022-01-05 to 2022-01-07 · Western Chelan County, Washington

Event narrative

A major winter storm dumped 30 to 40 inches of snow across Stehekin and Stevens Pass over 48 hours. Large avalanches, with blowing and drifting snow, led to a seven day closure of US Highway 2 at Stevens Pass. There were more than 200 snow slides in Tumwater Canyon, east of the pass. Some slides measured 30 to 35 feet in height.

Wider weather episode

A deep and slow moving storm system, with a deep fetch of Pacific moisture, delivered widespread moderate to heavy snow to the Inland Northwest tonight into Thursday. The winter storm severely impact transportation for almost one week. During the event, numerous school districts cancelled school due to the hazardous winter driving conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1003810. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.