Heavy Snow — Northeast Blue Mountains, Washington

2020-01-12 to 2020-01-13 · Northeast Blue Mountains, Washington

Event narrative

A member of the public in Anatone reported 24.0 inches of snow accumulation from this storm.

Wider weather episode

A persistent area of low pressure along the boundary of a stalled Arctic front set the stage for another round of heavy snow accumulations over north Idaho and northeast Washington during the third week of January. Moist air feeding into the area of low pressure impacted primarily the Northeast Mountains zone where the low level wind flow was favorable for upslope enhancement. Areas on the periphery of the mountains including the Upper Columbia Basin and the Spokane Area zones received generally 1 to 3 inches of snow from this round of precipitation in this active pattern.

Heavy orographic snow also impacted the Blue Mountains of southeast Washington during this period. The western Columbia basin and the East Slopes of the Cascades zone benefited from a precipitation shadow with largely dry conditions or minor accumulations from scattered snow showers.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 871040. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.