Heavy Snow — East Slopes Northern Cascades, Washington

2021-01-26 to 2021-01-28 · East Slopes Northern Cascades, Washington

Event narrative

A CoCoRaHS observer near Twisp recorded 9.5 inches of new snow accumulation.

Wider weather episode

A multi-day snow event lead to heavy snow accumulations from late January 26th into the early hours on the 28th. The first mid-level wave brought snow to most areas into the early afternoon January 27th. Enhanced lift brought a boundary of heavy snow from the Wenatchee area into the Okanogan Valley and across southern Ferry, Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties. Morning reports showed snow accumulations of 4-8 inches fell across that area. Light snow, with accumulations 1-3 inches, fell across much of the remaining eastern Washington low lands.

The second mid-level wave arrived the evening of January 27th and departed by the early morning hours of the 28th. Not quite a strong as the first, this next round of snowfall accumulated another 3-6 inches across much of the northern Washington counties. Two day snow total ranged from 5 inches in the valleys to 8 to 10 inches in higher elevations of Cascades and northeastern WA mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 937255. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.