Heavy Snow — East Slopes Northern Cascades, Washington

2021-02-06 to 2021-02-08 · East Slopes Northern Cascades, Washington

Event narrative

The Washington Department of Transportation reported that Stevens Pass received 18 inches of new snow accumulation in 24 hours. Heavy snow led to limited visibility and poor road conditions. US Highway 2 was closed due to spinouts, dangerous travel, and to perform avalanche control.

Wider weather episode

A deep trough centered over Canada led to over a foot of snow at the Cascade Crest and mountain passes, especially US-2 and Stevens Pass, late February 6th and 7th. Tight pressure gradients created winds that reached gusts of 20 to 35 mph on the Eastern Cascade slope. This produced blowing snow and contributed to the hazardous driving conditions and poor visibility.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 944560. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.