Heavy Snow — North Oregon Cascades, Oregon

2022-01-02 to 2022-01-03 · North Oregon Cascades, Oregon

Event narrative

A very active frontal system brought heavy snow to the Northern Oregon Cascades on the 2nd and 3rd with snow totals mostly between 21 and 29 inches. Peak snow fall rates are estimated at 3 to 4 inches per hour. One particular site, Bear Grass SNOTEL (BKSO3) at 4720 feet had 34 inches snowfall. Another site, Red Hill SNOTEL (REDO3) at 4410 feet received 18 inches of snow in 6 hours, on the 3rd between 0200PST to 0800PST. US-20 over Santiam Pass was closed due to heavy snow.

Wider weather episode

The first of two strong Pacific fronts brought high winds to the coast as well as gusty winds to the Willamette Valley and interior lowlands of southwest Washington. This storm generated large seas impacting the coastline, and combined with rising river levels and high astronomical tides, resulted in some flooding along the coast due to poor drainage. In addition to the wind and rain, heavy snow fell in the mountains and in the Columbia River Gorge where transportation corridors between western and eastern Oregon and Washington were temporarily closed due the heavy snow accumulation.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1004931. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.