Heavy Snow — Southwest Interior, Washington

2021-12-26 to 2021-12-27 · Southwest Interior, Washington

Event narrative

A Winter Storm brought heavy snow to the Southwest Interior during the last week of December as a modified arctic airmass moved in. An average of 5 to 10 inches was reported after the storm across the area.

Wider weather episode

A very cold airmass pushed into Western Washington at the end of December, resulting in cold air amidst sufficient moisture and lift as a modified arctic frontal boundary slid south. This made for significant lowland and mountain snow, with a period of drier but much colder weather for the following days. Several climate sites reached record low temperatures during and shortly after the winter storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 998745. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.