Heavy Snow — Southern Washington Cascade Foothills, Washington

2023-02-21 to 2023-02-23 · Southern Washington Cascade Foothills, Washington

Event narrative

Wide distribution of snow amounts, ranging from 2 to 4 inches in the hills outside of Kelso, to up to 8 to 10 inches at Calamity SNOTEL. A second round of snow moved through with up to 17 inches of snow closer to the east ODX metro area and west end of the Columbia Gorge.

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 1100656. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.