Winter Storm — Western Columbia River Gorge, Washington

2012-01-18 to 2012-01-21 · Western Columbia River Gorge, Washington

Event narrative

A trained spotter in Hood River reported 0.25 - 0.50 inch of ice accumulation on top of 4 - 6 inches of snow. The Hood River Valley ODOT reported OR-281 was closed from I-84 to MP 14. A NWS employee in Stevenson reported 0.50 inch ice accumulation. The Hood River County Emergency Manager reported 0.50 inch ice accumulation on top to 7 to 24 inches of snow. He also said there were 100 trees down and power outages. There were nearly 2000 customers without power in Hood River and Mosier according to Pacific Power.

Wider weather episode

A previous storm brought snow to the area. With a cold air mass in place over the Pacific Northwest following the snow event, a strong and very moist Pacific weather system moved through the area with precipitation falling through the cold air and accumulating ice on top of the snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 361394. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.