Heavy Snow — Western Chelan County, Washington

2022-02-27 to 2022-02-28 · Western Chelan County, Washington

Event narrative

US Highway 2 was closed at Stevens Pass for avalanche control at 0115 PST on February 28th due to heavy, wet snow. The pass remained closed until 1045 PST. Snow began mid-day in the Cascade Crest on February 27th. Stevens Pass recorded 22 inches of snow accumulation in the 24 hour period from 0700 PST February 27th to 0700 PST February 28th. In the same time period, the Lucerne and Stehekin COOP stations recorded between 20 and 24 inches.

Wider weather episode

There was a two day heavy snow event that impacted the Eastern Cascades in late February. Light snow arrived near the Cascades late February 26th. It spread across northern Washington into north Idaho on the 27th. A heavier round of precipitation arrived that evening into the 28th. It created hazardous travel conditions due to slick, snow covered roads. The two day event increased avalanche danger due to heavy wet snow falling on top of a layer of lighter snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1008215. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.