Blizzard — Waterville Plateau, Washington

2017-01-10 to 2017-01-11 · Waterville Plateau, Washington

Event narrative

Highway 2 in Douglas County was closed due to blowing and drifting snow and poor visibility between Waterville and Coulee City. The Douglas RAWS observation site reported sustained winds of 25 to 30 mph with gusts near 40 mph during this time frame.

Wider weather episode

An arctic air mass invaded the region creating windy conditions over the Columbia Basin. Sustained northeast winds of 25 to 30 mph with gusts as high as 40 mph created blowing and drifting snow with low visibility in the Moses lake area and Waterville Plateau during the afternoon and evening of January 10th. Numerous cars had to be abandoned in snow drifts overnight and some roads were closed through the night. In the Palouse region several vehicles were stranded in drifting snow along Highway 27 between Fairfield and Tekoa. Heavy equipment dispatched to clear the road also became temporarily stuck.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 676864. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.