Heavy Snow — Western Columbia Gorge, Washington

2019-02-10 to 2019-02-12 · Western Columbia Gorge, Washington

Event narrative

Exact amounts of snow and ice are unknown due to lack of reports. One spotter report from Stevenson had 7.5 inches of snow in a 12 hour period. Another report from the public in Stevenson had 10 inches of snow in a 24 hour period. Heavy snow and ice closed I-84 in both directions east of Milepost 23 due to heavy snow and ice which caused a crash involving multiple tractor-trailers.

Wider weather episode

Back-to-back low pressure systems dropping south along the coast of British Columbia and Washington brought cold air south into SW Washington as well as plenty of moisture. Locations in the Columbia Gorge saw 1 to 2 feet of snow. At lower elevations, a near stationary frontal boundary Monday night into Tuesday morning dropped several inches of rain over portions of Cowlitz County causing flooding.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 810024. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.