Heavy Snow — Cascades in Lane County, Oregon

2019-02-23 to 2019-02-25 · Cascades in Lane County, Oregon

Event narrative

Generally 2 to 3 feet of snow fell across the Lane County Cascades. Heaviest known report was 38 inches from McKenzie SNOTEL. Highway 58 was closed due to trees brought down by heavy, wet snow. Amtrak train carrying 183 passengers and crew was stuck in Oakridge for over 36 hours due to trees across the tracks.

Wider weather episode

It started as a low pressure system moving south into eastern Washington, bringing a cold front southeastward across western Oregon. The front then stalled across the southern Willamette Valley and Lane County Cascades as colder and colder air moved in aloft. What started as rain at low elevations turned to snow during the afternoon of the 23rd. The stalled front kept producing snow over the same areas through the next 24 hours with a direct tap of moisture from the Pacific Ocean. Another surface low pressure system rode up the stationary front and brought another surge of moisture and heavy snow on the 24th through the morning of the 25th. This surface low finally pushed the frontal boundary out of the area and brought an end to the snow the night of the 25th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 811014. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.