Heavy Snow — Central Oregon Coast, Oregon

2023-02-22 to 2023-02-23 · Central Oregon Coast, Oregon

Event narrative

Snow began falling around 2000 PST with significant accumulations shortly after tapering off around 1400 PST on the 23rd. A total of 3 to 8 inches fell between Seaside and Newport, with up to 12 inches in the inland suburbs of Tillamook. Schools and some county offices were closed for up to 2 days. There were reports of fallen trees and resulting power outages. Oregon Department of Transportation reported road closures on OR 229 Siletz Highway and OR 34 Alsea Highway.

Wider weather episode

A significant winter weather event impacted portions of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. Particularly hard hit was the Portland and Vancouver metro area. A crippling snowstorm impacted the Portland and Vancouver metro area on the afternoon of February 22, continuing into the night. The storm brought widespread 6 to 12 inch snowfall totals to the area. Snowfall distribution was greatly influenced by mesoscale banding. The timing of this event also magnified its impacts.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1086528. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.