Heavy Snow — Cascades of Pierce and Lewis Counties, Washington

2022-11-29 to 2022-11-30 · Cascades of Pierce and Lewis Counties, Washington

Event narrative

A period of decent snowfall fell at Mt Rainier National Park shortly after midnight on the 27th. Snow remained steady through the 28th but did not meet advisory or warning criteria, with about 15 inches of new snow depth through this period. Much heavier snow then fell on the 29th/30th. Snow began during the mid morning hours on the 29th, accumulating well over 11 inches in 12 hours and over 20 inches in 24 hours. Heavy snow then tapered during the late morning hours on the 30th before starting up again later in day but remaining generally less impactful. New snow depth after this storm at Paradise was measured around 2 feet, making for about 70 inches of total snow.

Wider weather episode

Another round of heavy snow affected the Cascade and Olympic mountains of western Washington at the end of November. Similar to the previous event earlier in the month, the central and southern Cascades received the most snowfall during this event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1067394. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.