Winter Storm — Greater Vancouver Area, Washington

2024-01-12 to 2024-01-13 · Greater Vancouver Area, Washington

Event narrative

Blizzard-like conditions were observed at the height of the storm with roughly 1 to 4 inches of a snow/sleet across the Portland and Vancouver metro area and widespread east wind gusts of 40-55 mph. This led to hundreds of downed trees and limbs, resulting in widespread and extended power outages.

Wider weather episode

A very strong arctic front moved across Western Washington and Oregon on the 12th and 13th dropping temperatures below freezing. With cold air in the lowlands, all precipitation fell as freezing rain for areas along the coast, valleys in the Coast Range, and Willamette Valley northward into southwest Washington. This caused significant impacts. Strong east winds in the Vancouver metro area resulted in significant tree damage and power outages. There were injuries during this event due to cold exposure, falling trees and fallen power lines.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1165456. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.