Winter Storm — South Coast, Washington

2021-02-12 to 2021-02-13 · South Coast, Washington

Event narrative

Wide variation of snow and ice accumulations, with impacts mainly felt near the Columbia River. Cathlamet reported 12 inches of snow, while Astoria and Long Beach reported very little snow. US Hwy 101 was closed at the Megler Bridge due to falling chunks of ice from the bridge structure. Estimated ice near Astoria ranged from 0.33 to 0.66, and similar amounts can be assumed for the other side of the river.

Wider weather episode

A deep upper trough drove an arctic airmass into southwest Washington. As multiple Pacific fronts moved over the area, a major elevation winter storm with heavy snow and freezing rain occurred over a multi-day period. This was a major, widespread, multi-faceted winter storm that caused major problems across the forecast area, even (and especially) in the lowlands.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 946578. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.