Heavy Snow — Central Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

2019-02-10 to 2019-02-12 · Central Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

Event narrative

On average, 5 to 10 inches of snow fell through the central Columbia Gorge. Reports came from various networks including CoCoRaHS, trained spotters, and from our COOP observer at Bonneville Dam. Per the Oregonian (newspaper), Interstate 84 was closed in both directions east of Milepost 23 at 528 AM on February 12th due to snow.

Wider weather episode

Back-to-back low pressure systems dropping south along the coast of British Columbia and Washington brought cold air south into NW Oregon as well as plenty of moisture. Locations in the Columbia Gorge and Hood River Valley saw 1 to 2 feet of snow. At lower elevations, a near stationary frontal boundary the night of the 11th into the morning of the 12th dropped several inches of rain over portions of Washington, Columbia, Tillamook and Yamhill Counties.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 810016. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.