Heavy Snow — North Oregon Cascades Foothills, Oregon

2019-02-23 to 2019-02-24 · North Oregon Cascades Foothills, Oregon

Event narrative

Numerous SNOTELs reported 12 to 24 inches, with heaviest snow down around Santiam Pass. Much of the snow fell in a 12 hour period.

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 811015. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.