Heavy Snow — Foothills of the Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon, Oregon

2022-12-04 to 2022-12-05 · Foothills of the Northern Blue Mountains of Oregon, Oregon

Event narrative

A Helix School official in Helix, Or reported an estimated 4.5 inches of new snow at 0700 PST on Dec. 5th. A report from social media indicated 5 inches of new snow accumulated in Milton-Freewater, Or over a 24 hour period ending at 0800 PST on Dec. 5th.

Wider weather episode

A series of deformation bands aided by a closed upper low off the southwest Oregon coastline resulted in light to moderate snowfall through much of the day Dec. 4th and through the morning on Dec. 5th. The prolonged snowfall resulted in heavy snow accumulations across the Lower Columbia Basin, portions of the eastern Columbia River Gorge, the Blue Mountain Foothills, and in the Yakima valley.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1072031. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.