Heavy Snow — Waterville Plateau, Washington

2019-12-18 to 2019-12-20 · Waterville Plateau, Washington

Event narrative

A member of the public 2 miles north of East Wenatchee reported 6.0 inches of new snow accumulation.

Wider weather episode

From the evening of December 18th through the morning of December 20th a deep fetch of Pacific moisture was directed into the region. This moisture enhanced along a warm front and produced heavy snow across the mountains of eastern Washington. In the lower elevations the warm front quickly raised snow levels over the eastern Columbia Basin and the valleys of north Idaho limiting snow accumulations to 1 to 3 inches before changing over to rain. In the western Columbia Basin cold air dammed against the Cascades was slow to scrub out and precipitation remained as snow for a longer period resulting in heavy accumulations in the Wenatchee area, the Waterville Plateau and the Okanogan Valley.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 868297. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.