Winter Storm — Western Columbia Gorge, Washington

2021-02-12 to 2021-02-15 · Western Columbia Gorge, Washington

Event narrative

Snow and wind continued after the Blizzard Warning was converted to a Winter Storm Warning. Storm total snowfall was around 24 inches at Cascade Locks by midday the 13th, and more arrived with the next impulse on the 14th and 15th. State Highway SR 14 was closed multiple days due to the heavy snowfall.

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 946580. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.