Winter Weather — Cascades of Pierce and Lewis Counties, Washington

2019-10-08 · Cascades of Pierce and Lewis Counties, Washington

Event narrative

Snowfall began around 9am at Paradise with 5.5 inches noted by about 5pm. An additional few tenths of an inch then fell through mid evening before tapering off. Total snowfall accumulation at Paradise of just under 6 inches (5.8 inches) in 12 hours. Crystal Mountain snowfall started around 9am with just over 6 inches reported 12 hours later before tapering. No significant accumulation was found at White Pass.

Wider weather episode

An upper level trough swung down from British Columbia, carrying with it a surface frontal system. Colder air behind the front combined with an unstable environment lead to the development of convective post-frontal showers. The mountains received the first snowfall accumulation of the season. A winter weather advisory had been issued for this event, however, with it being the first significant (i.e., with travel impacts) accumulating snowfall of the season, snowfall totals actually met winter storm warning criteria for this event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 862060. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.