Winter Weather — East Slopes Northern Cascades, Washington

2014-02-19 · East Slopes Northern Cascades, Washington

Event narrative

Two men were found dead near a wrecked Jeep off a snowy Forest Service road in the Derby Canyon area. Reports state the two men were going for a drive in an all-wheel-drive jeep along primitive roads that had snow two feet deep in places. The vehicle was found on Thursday about 75 yards down a steep embankment off the primitive road. It appeared the vehicle had lost traction while trying to drive up a slope on the road in deep wet snow. The exact time of the accident was unknown.

Wider weather episode

Periods of moderate to heavy snow continued for the seventh straight day across the East Slopes of the Washington Cascades. A persistent westerly jet continued to feed subtropical moisture along just over the Cascades Crest. Over a foot of snow fell along and adjacent to the crest impacting the communities of Plain, Holden Village, and Mazama. Snowfall amounts near ten inches were common away from the crest in locations like Leavenworth.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 499225. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.