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On This Day In History...Major Weather Events in the PNW or West


snow_wizard

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Portland did a lot better than Seattle on the whole from 1917-37.

 

Outside of Seattle 1921-22, 1922-23, 1924-25, 1928-29, 1931-32, and 1936-37 were fantastic.  Seattle only did really well in 1922-23, 1924-25, and 1928-29.  There were so many events in that period though.  Just insane!

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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1-2-

 

1899 - After 5 consecutive days of significant snowfall Seattle had 16 inches of snow on the ground and was in the midst of one its all time great periods of deep snow cover.  When it was through Seattle ended up with 10 consecutive days with 10" or more snow on the ground and 15 consecutive days of 1" or more.  This event still stands as the longest stretch of days with 10 inches or more snow on the ground for the city.  Below is a list of the days that had snowfall and snow on the ground with depths.

 

12/29- 4.0 .... 4

12/30- 3.0 .... 7

12/31- 5.0 ... 12

   1/1 - 5.0 ... 12

   1/2 - 5.0 ... 16

   1/3 - ......... 12

   1/4 - ......... 10

   1/5 - 2.0 ... 12

   1/6 - 5.0 ... 17

   1/7 - ......... 17

    1/8 - ........ 15

    1/9 - ........ 12

   1/10 - ......... 7

   1/11 - ......... 3

   1/12 - ......... 1

 

Another great winter in the amazing 1890s! 

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Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Wow

 

I think 1928-29 could have well been the best winter of the 20th century for the EPSL for overall desirability.  Very cold, not a lot of rain, snow on the ground for weeks, and tons of sunny and cold days.  1936-37 was also excellent.  From 1919 through early 1937 here is a list off the top of my head of months that had at least a significant blast and / or major snowfall.

 

Dec 1919 - Major December blast not much snow

Nov 1921 - Major snowstorm

Jan 1922 - cold and snowy

Dec 1922 - cold and snowy

Jan 1923 - significant snowfall

Feb 1923 - major blast and snowstorm (snow on the ground continuously late Jan through late Feb)

Dec 1924 - epic blast and snowstorm (snow on the ground for many days).

Jan 1926 - short Arctic blast

Jan 1927 - Arctic blast

Dec 1927 - Arctic blast

Jan 1929 - Major blast with major snowfall

Feb 1929 - Major snowfall on 1st followed by two weeks of clear and cold

Jan 1930 - Very cold for weeks

Jan 1932 - Significant blast and major snowstorm

Dec 1932 - Major blast with little snow

Feb 1933 - Major blast with little snow

Jan 1935 - Major blast with major snowstorm (epic warm front afterward)

Oct 1935 - Major blast with snow 

Feb 1936 - Epic cold month with some snow

Jan 1937 - Very cold with nearly continuous snow cover

Feb 1937 - Continued cold with snow on the ground

 

Wow!

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Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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One thing the 1920s and 1930s show is that blocky winters eventually serve us well.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Another ho-hum 1890s winter, as a major snowstorm began on the 2nd of January in 1895 and carried over into the 3rd for NW OR and Western WA.

 

McMinnville had 14" on the 2nd, Downtown Portland had 15" in a 12 hour period, Downtown Seattle had 10", and Ground Mound had 22" on the 2nd-3rd. The Dalles had a historic storm as well, with over two feet in 24 hours. In Portland, the snow switched to sleet that night and dropped another inch of ice on top of the heavy snowpack.

 

Salem just had a mix with no reported accumulation. 

 

That one is kind of an add on for that decade.  Overshadowed by many.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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I think 1928-29 could have well been the best winter of the 20th century for the EPSL for overall desirability.  Very cold, not a lot of rain, snow on the ground for weeks, and tons of sunny and cold days.  1936-37 was also excellent.  From 1919 through early 1937 here is a list off the top of my head of months that had at least a significant blast and / or major snowfall.

 

Dec 1919 - Major December blast not much snow

Nov 1921 - Major snowstorm

Jan 1922 - cold and snowy

Dec 1922 - cold and snowy

Jan 1923 - significant snowfall

Feb 1923 - major blast and snowstorm (snow on the ground continuously late Jan through late Feb)

Dec 1924 - epic blast and snowstorm (snow on the ground for many days).

Jan 1926 - short Arctic blast

Jan 1927 - Arctic blast

Dec 1927 - Arctic blast

Jan 1929 - Major blast with major snowfall

Feb 1929 - Major snowfall on 1st followed by two weeks of clear and cold

Jan 1930 - Very cold for weeks

Jan 1932 - Significant blast and major snowstorm

Dec 1932 - Major blast with little snow

Feb 1933 - Major blast with little snow

Jan 1935 - Major blast with major snowstorm (epic warm front afterward)

Oct 1935 - Major blast with snow 

Feb 1936 - Epic cold month with some snow

Jan 1937 - Very cold with nearly continuous snow cover

Feb 1937 - Continued cold with snow on the ground

 

Wow!

 

You also had a decent arctic airmass in December 1921, the major arctic event at the start of 1924, and some impressive "offseason" airmasses like October 1919, September 1926, and late March-early April 1936.

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1-2-

 

1899 - After 5 consecutive days of significant snowfall Seattle had 16 inches of snow on the ground and was in the midst of one its all time great periods of deep snow cover.  When it was through Seattle ended up with 10 consecutive days with 10" or more snow on the ground and 15 consecutive days of 1" or more.  This event still stands as the longest stretch of days with 10 inches or more snow on the ground for the city.  Below is a list of the days that had snowfall and snow on the ground with depths.

 

12/29- 4.0 .... 4

12/30- 3.0 .... 7

12/31- 5.0 ... 12

   1/1 - 5.0 ... 12

   1/2 - 5.0 ... 16

   1/3 - ......... 12

   1/4 - ......... 10

   1/5 - 2.0 ... 12

   1/6 - 5.0 ... 17

   1/7 - ......... 17

    1/8 - ........ 15

    1/9 - ........ 12

   1/10 - ......... 7

   1/11 - ......... 3

   1/12 - ......... 1

 

Another great winter in the amazing 1890s! 

 

Awesome stretch. I've read that snow was 30" deep half a mile from the Hood Canal, in the Brinnon area. Brinnon itself had 23" fall from the 31st - 2nd. 

 

The Arctic gravy train that fueled our snows went on to produce the Manitoba provincial record low, -63F on 1-9-1899 at Norway House.

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Awesome stretch. I've read that snow was 30" deep half a mile from the Hood Canal, in the Brinnon area. Brinnon itself had 23" fall from the 31st - 2nd. 

 

The Arctic gravy train that fueled our snows went on to produce the Manitoba provincial record low, -63F on 1-9-1899 at Norway House.

 

And then we had the epic February cold wave.  To me it's a toss up between the 1880s and 1890s for most incredible decade.  The 1860s had some awesome winters too, but also some duds.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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You also had a decent arctic airmass in December 1921, the major arctic event at the start of 1924, and some impressive "offseason" airmasses like October 1919, September 1926, and late March-early April 1936.

 

For sure.  I definitely should have listed December 1921.  1921-22 and 1922-23 was an insanely great pair of winters in this local area.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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And then we had the epic February cold wave.  To me it's a toss up between the 1880s and 1890s for most incredible decade.  The 1860s had some awesome winters too, but also some duds.

 

For the Willamette Valley I think it is the 1880s hands down.

Snowfall                                  Precip

2022-23: 95.0"                      2022-23: 17.39"

2021-22: 52.6"                    2021-22: 91.46" 

2020-21: 12.0"                    2020-21: 71.59"

2019-20: 23.5"                   2019-20: 58.54"

2018-19: 63.5"                   2018-19: 66.33"

2017-18: 30.3"                   2017-18: 59.83"

2016-17: 49.2"                   2016-17: 97.58"

2015-16: 11.75"                 2015-16: 68.67"

2014-15: 3.5"
2013-14: 11.75"                  2013-14: 62.30
2012-13: 16.75"                 2012-13: 78.45  

2011-12: 98.5"                   2011-12: 92.67"

It's always sunny at Winters Hill! 
Fighting the good fight against weather evil.

 

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And then we had the epic February cold wave.  To me it's a toss up between the 1880s and 1890s for most incredible decade.  The 1860s had some awesome winters too, but also some duds.

 

The 1850s were pretty d**n consistent as well, but even they had a couple of clunkers. And probably nothing as snowy as 1889-90 and definitely not 1892-93.

 

1849-50: Very cold December and March, looks like a fair amount of snow. Snowy Fraser River outflow event in late January.

1850-51: Only one minor arctic airmass in January.

1851-52: Fairly quiet as well, some fake-ish December cold but then a big wet snowstorm at the start of March.

1852-53: Epic two week stretch of cold in December. Massive snowfall right before Christmas.

1853-54: Epic 3-4 week stretch in January of cold, subzero around Vancouver. Fairly nice snowstorm as well. 

1854-55: Mild winter throughout, no significant snow!

1855-56: Epic cold/snowy December with more subzero temps at Fort Vancouver. Very front-loaded though.

1856-57: Nice cool/snowy December and another epic January. Major snowstorm right in the middle of arctic blast.

1857-58: Epic mid February snowstorm and arctic airmass, like 1923 but even better.

1858-59: Chilly throughout with occasional snows. Nice arctic outbreak in early December.

1859-60: Epic cold November/December. Looks like a decent amount of snow.

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For the Willamette Valley I think it is the 1880s hands down.

 

The one thing that could tip it for the 1880s for Seattle is the ridiculous snowfall in January 1880, but the 1890s were so amazing.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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The 1850s were pretty d**n consistent as well, but even they had a couple of clunkers. And probably nothing as snowy as 1889-90 and definitely not 1892-93.

 

1849-50: Very cold December and March, looks like a fair amount of snow. Snowy Fraser River outflow event in late January.

1850-51: Only one minor arctic airmass in January.

1851-52: Fairly quiet as well, some fake-ish December cold but then a big wet snowstorm at the start of March.

1852-53: Epic two week stretch of cold in December. Massive snowfall right before Christmas.

1853-54: Epic 3-4 week stretch in January of cold, subzero around Vancouver. Fairly nice snowstorm as well. 

1854-55: Mild winter throughout, no significant snow!

1855-56: Epic cold/snowy December with more subzero temps at Fort Vancouver. Very front-loaded though.

1856-57: Nice cool/snowy December and another epic January. Major snowstorm right in the middle of arctic blast.

1857-58: Epic mid February snowstorm and arctic airmass, like 1923 but even better.

1858-59: Chilly throughout with occasional snows. Nice arctic outbreak in early December.

1859-60: Epic cold November/December. Looks like a decent amount of snow.

 

December 1855 is one month missing from the Fort Steilacom records.  In fact all of 1855 is missing.  I think the 1850s and 1870s were the "weakest" decades from 1850 to 1900.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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December 1855 is one month missing from the Fort Steilacom records.  In fact all of 1855 is missing.  I think the 1850s and 1870s were the "weakest" decades from 1850 to 1900.

 

They have records from that year, but the FORTS inventory doesn't seem to have it.

 

The monthly data that I see from December 1855 shows a monthly mean of 34.3 at Fort Steilacoom with 14.62" of precip. The low that month there was 5. Fort Vancouver had a monthly mean of 28.3 with a low of -1 and 10.77" of precip. Would love to know how much snow fell.

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44 years ago today (1/4/74), I cut class at Claremont High School and went to the library, where I could look out the windows and watch snow falling heavily on the foothills just to the north down to below 2,000 ft.  It was a seminal Weather Weenie moment.

 

Nice. That's the storm that dumped 9" on Las Vegas. Their greatest 2-day snowfall on record. 

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"Ice and snow are almost unknown in Washington Territory". Famous last words from January 4, 1880. The next day? Read about it here: http://komonews.com/weather/scotts-weather-blog/seattles-ultimate-jinx-the-5-foot-snowstorm-that-hit-in-january-1880

 

They were so full of s**t back then!  That was all fake news to get more people to settle here.  The 1870s were pretty lame by 19th century standards, but the 1860s had some very snowy and cold winters.

 

BTW...I have some excellent nuggets and anecdotes I have found about that event in the decades of research I have done about our climate.  I have compiled a good outline that I plan to use in the book I want to write about past events.  The combination of the snowstorm in Western WA and the windstorm in Western OR make that one of the greatest non tropical storms to ever strike the United States.

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Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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January 1912 gorge snowstorm.

 

On the 6th-7th, 41" buried The Dalles (20" an 21"). Cascade Locks received 26" in one day (the 6th), with a peak depth of 42" at the end of the event. Hood River reached a depth of 40" on the 7th. A town called Ortley, located at 1,600 feet in the eastern end of the gorge and the location of a COOP station in those days, measured 56.1" on the 6th-7th along with a melted precip total of 5.60". Daily totals were 21.3" on the 6th followed by a massive 34.8" on the 7th. The latter is one of the heaviest single-day snowfalls ever recorded at an official observation site in Oregon. 

 

A severe ice storm affected the Portland area from the 6th-9th, with over an inch of ice accumulation and damages of $200,000, a big number for the era. Downtown also recorded 8.4" total snowfall during the multi-day event. On the 6th, 2.11" of melted precip was recorded along with a temperature spread of 35/28. 

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A year ago today we posted a high/low of 27/15. Pretty chilly. January 8th would be our first high above freezing for the year.

 

Record low on this date at Silver Falls is 6 set in 1979. 

Snowfall                                  Precip

2022-23: 95.0"                      2022-23: 17.39"

2021-22: 52.6"                    2021-22: 91.46" 

2020-21: 12.0"                    2020-21: 71.59"

2019-20: 23.5"                   2019-20: 58.54"

2018-19: 63.5"                   2018-19: 66.33"

2017-18: 30.3"                   2017-18: 59.83"

2016-17: 49.2"                   2016-17: 97.58"

2015-16: 11.75"                 2015-16: 68.67"

2014-15: 3.5"
2013-14: 11.75"                  2013-14: 62.30
2012-13: 16.75"                 2012-13: 78.45  

2011-12: 98.5"                   2011-12: 92.67"

It's always sunny at Winters Hill! 
Fighting the good fight against weather evil.

 

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January 6th 2017, low of -19 with a snowpack of nearly 20", all of which just fell a couple days before that. That was a wild start of the year.

Ashland, KY Weather

'23-'24 Winter

Snowfall - 5.50"
First freeze: 11/1 (32)
Minimum: 2 on 1/17

Measurable snows: 4
Max 1 day snow: 3" (1/19)

Thunders: 11
1/27, 1/28, 2/10, 2/22, 2/27, 2/28, 3/5, 3/6, 3/14, 3/15
3/26, 

-------------------------------------------------------
[Klamath Falls, OR 2010 to 2021]
https://imgur.com/SuGTijl

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Great snowstorm and Windstorm of January 1880

 

January 6-9

 

During this period in January two very powerful low pressure systems tracked across the southern half of Western WA producing one of the greatest lowland snowstorms ever witnessed in a non mountainous location in the lower 48 United States.  Snow depths in some areas of Western WA reached depths in excess of 5 feet and in some extreme cases over 6 feet.  Accounts from the Seattle P-I newspaper confirm that snow depths averaged throughout the city of Seattle were about 52".

 

Storm number one was a strong low pressure system and associated baroclinic band that dumped extreme amounts of precipitation over much of Western WA.  From somewhere around Olympia northward this fell exclusively as snow.  Not only did this storm produce  the greatest snowfall totals (by far) ever seen in Seattle, but it apparently also holds the record for greatest two day precip total ever recorded as well.  My theory is the baroclinic band interacted with nearby Arctic air which caused an unusual enhancement of precipitation totals.

 

Storm number two was an even more powerful low that took a similar track, but produced considerably less (albeit still significant) snowfall for the Puget Sound region.  The bigger story about this storm is it caused a tremendous windstorm in NW Oregon that blew down over half the trees in some places.  The reason this storm caused different results is due to the fact it tracked in on a much different trajectory in spite of the point of landfall and inland track being similar.

 

Below is a chart I constructed for Seattle from that extraordinary month.  It took years to really unravel anything close to what the true numbers might have been for snowfall and water equivalent amounts.  I calculated water equivalent based on the density of snow per cubic which was thankfully provided in the newspaper account.  If memory serves it weighed like 52 pounds per cubic foot!  At any rate based on that and newspaper accounts of the snowfall amounts I came up with what should be a close approximation of water equivalent.  One interesting tidbit in the P-I mentions that one person away from water (presumably on the hill that runs down the east side of the main city) recorded 76 inches of snow in three days!

 

This was truly a storm for the ages.

 

I should also point out the temperatures used for this chart are from Port Blakely which directly west of Seattle on Bainbridge Island, while sky cover and wind are from Olympia.  This is probably the best picture of this month that can be constructed.

post-222-0-92568800-1515361877_thumb.jpg

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Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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A year ago today was a nice little snowstorm in the Willamette Valley. Salem and points south saw 3-6” of snow while north into the metro area were mostly 1-3” amounts. Salem and Eugene had highs in the upper 20s.

Snowfall                                  Precip

2022-23: 95.0"                      2022-23: 17.39"

2021-22: 52.6"                    2021-22: 91.46" 

2020-21: 12.0"                    2020-21: 71.59"

2019-20: 23.5"                   2019-20: 58.54"

2018-19: 63.5"                   2018-19: 66.33"

2017-18: 30.3"                   2017-18: 59.83"

2016-17: 49.2"                   2016-17: 97.58"

2015-16: 11.75"                 2015-16: 68.67"

2014-15: 3.5"
2013-14: 11.75"                  2013-14: 62.30
2012-13: 16.75"                 2012-13: 78.45  

2011-12: 98.5"                   2011-12: 92.67"

It's always sunny at Winters Hill! 
Fighting the good fight against weather evil.

 

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Great snowstorm and Windstorm of January 1880

 

January 6-9

 

During this period in January two very powerful low pressure systems tracked across the southern half of Western WA producing one of the greatest lowland snowstorms ever witnessed in a non mountainous location in the lower 48 United States.  Snow depths in some areas of Western WA reached depths in excess of 5 feet and in some extreme cases over 6 feet.  Accounts from the Seattle P-I newspaper confirm that snow depths averaged throughout the city of Seattle were about 52".

 

Storm number one was a strong low pressure system and associated baroclinic band that dumped extreme amounts of precipitation over much of Western WA.  From somewhere around Olympia northward this fell exclusively as snow.  Not only did this storm produce  the greatest snowfall totals (by far) ever seen in Seattle, but it apparently also holds the record for greatest two day precip total ever recorded as well.  My theory is the baroclinic band interacted with nearby Arctic air which caused an unusual enhancement of precipitation totals.

 

Storm number two was an even more powerful low that took a similar track, but produced considerably less (albeit still significant) snowfall for the Puget Sound region.  The bigger story about this storm is it caused a tremendous windstorm in NW Oregon that blew down over half the trees in some places.  The reason this storm caused different results is due to the fact it tracked in on a much different trajectory in spite of the point of landfall and inland track being similar.

 

Below is a chart I constructed for Seattle from that extraordinary month.  It took years to really unravel anything close to what the true numbers might have been for snowfall and water equivalent amounts.  I calculated water equivalent based on the density of snow per cubic which was thankfully provided in the newspaper account.  If memory serves it weighed like 52 pounds per cubic foot!  At any rate based on that and newspaper accounts of the snowfall amounts I came up with what should be a close approximation of water equivalent.  One interesting tidbit in the P-I mentions that one person away from water (presumably on the hill that runs down the east side of the main city) recorded 76 inches of snow in three days!

 

This was truly a storm for the ages.

 

I should also point out the temperatures used for this chart are from Port Blakely which directly west of Seattle on Bainbridge Island, while sky cover and wind are from Olympia.  This is probably the best picture of this month that can be constructed.

 

Wasn't even that cold of a month...

Snowfall                                  Precip

2022-23: 95.0"                      2022-23: 17.39"

2021-22: 52.6"                    2021-22: 91.46" 

2020-21: 12.0"                    2020-21: 71.59"

2019-20: 23.5"                   2019-20: 58.54"

2018-19: 63.5"                   2018-19: 66.33"

2017-18: 30.3"                   2017-18: 59.83"

2016-17: 49.2"                   2016-17: 97.58"

2015-16: 11.75"                 2015-16: 68.67"

2014-15: 3.5"
2013-14: 11.75"                  2013-14: 62.30
2012-13: 16.75"                 2012-13: 78.45  

2011-12: 98.5"                   2011-12: 92.67"

It's always sunny at Winters Hill! 
Fighting the good fight against weather evil.

 

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Wasn't even that cold of a month...

 

Extreme snow event followed by the usual rain and mild weather... 5 feet of snow disappears in a couple days.    :)

**REPORTED CONDITIONS AND ANOMALIES ARE NOT MEANT TO IMPLY ANYTHING ON A REGIONAL LEVEL UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED**

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Great snowstorm and Windstorm of January 1880

 

January 6-9

 

During this period in January two very powerful low pressure systems tracked across the southern half of Western WA producing one of the greatest lowland snowstorms ever witnessed in a non mountainous location in the lower 48 United States.  Snow depths in some areas of Western WA reached depths in excess of 5 feet and in some extreme cases over 6 feet.  Accounts from the Seattle P-I newspaper confirm that snow depths averaged throughout the city of Seattle were about 52".

 

Storm number one was a strong low pressure system and associated baroclinic band that dumped extreme amounts of precipitation over much of Western WA.  From somewhere around Olympia northward this fell exclusively as snow.  Not only did this storm produce  the greatest snowfall totals (by far) ever seen in Seattle, but it apparently also holds the record for greatest two day precip total ever recorded as well.  My theory is the baroclinic band interacted with nearby Arctic air which caused an unusual enhancement of precipitation totals.

 

Storm number two was an even more powerful low that took a similar track, but produced considerably less (albeit still significant) snowfall for the Puget Sound region.  The bigger story about this storm is it caused a tremendous windstorm in NW Oregon that blew down over half the trees in some places.  The reason this storm caused different results is due to the fact it tracked in on a much different trajectory in spite of the point of landfall and inland track being similar.

 

Below is a chart I constructed for Seattle from that extraordinary month.  It took years to really unravel anything close to what the true numbers might have been for snowfall and water equivalent amounts.  I calculated water equivalent based on the density of snow per cubic which was thankfully provided in the newspaper account.  If memory serves it weighed like 52 pounds per cubic foot!  At any rate based on that and newspaper accounts of the snowfall amounts I came up with what should be a close approximation of water equivalent.  One interesting tidbit in the P-I mentions that one person away from water (presumably on the hill that runs down the east side of the main city) recorded 76 inches of snow in three days!

 

This was truly a storm for the ages.

 

I should also point out the temperatures used for this chart are from Port Blakely which directly west of Seattle on Bainbridge Island, while sky cover and wind are from Olympia.  This is probably the best picture of this month that can be constructed.

 

Pretty amazing that this happened in a month that wouldn't be notably chilly even by today's standards.

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Wasn't even that cold of a month...

 

Nope.  This was a case of major lows tracking south.  I'm betting Bellingham was much colder with dry blowing snow though.

 

At least there were a couple of solidly chilly days after the snow.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Extreme snow event followed by the usual rain and mild weather... 5 feet of snow disappears in a couple days.    :)

 

There was actually some still left at the end of the month due to the extreme density of snow pack.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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December 1879 would have been more to your liking.

 

I think the cold left over from that made the January event possible.  As you might have guessed it's been pretty well proven that was a Nina winter.

Death To Warm Anomalies!

 

Winter 2023-24 stats

 

Total Snowfall = 1.0"

Day with 1" or more snow depth = 1

Total Hail = 0.0

Total Ice = 0.2

Coldest Low = 13

Lows 32 or below = 45

Highs 32 or below = 3

Lows 20 or below = 3

Highs 40 or below = 9

 

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Nope. This was a case of major lows tracking south. I'm betting Bellingham was much colder with dry blowing snow though.

 

At least there were a couple of solidly chilly days after the snow.

There was a solid cold snap in SW BC from the 6-11th. With roughly 16-24” of snow. New Westminster had 36.5” for the month and a 31F mean.

 

http://climate.weather.gc.ca/climate_data/daily_data_e.html?timeframe=2&Year=1880&Month=1&Day=7&hlyRange=%7C&dlyRange=1874-09-01%7C1966-06-30&mlyRange=1874-01-01%7C1966-12-01&StationID=812&Prov=BC&urlExtension=_e.html&searchType=stnName&optLimit=specDate&StartYear=1840&EndYear=2018&selRowPerPage=25&Line=0&searchMethod=contains&txtStationName=New+west

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January 9-19, 1875 at downtown Portland:

 

30/19

30/18

33/24

26/16

16/4

14/3

20/10

19/9

23/11

18/9

40/13

 

Incredible cold wave.

 

Eola, near Salem, had a 2:00 PM reading of 7 degrees at one point. Fort Canby out on the WA coast spent several afternoons in a row with temps in the 10's. The Oregonian reported -12 in Silverton. Wallula in the lower Columbia Basin hit -26. New Westminster, BC hit -5 and averaged 21.4 for the month. Fort Colville reported four straight mornings in the -30 range, something that has never been repeated in that area. Fort Lapwai (Lewiston) had two mornings at -28 (modern all-time record is -23 in Dec 1919) while the Missoula signal service station hit -34. The initial shot on the 8th-9th also brought readings of -37 and -38 to Cheyenne, WY, the coldest ever observed there. 

 

The lows reported from Fort Benton, MT on January 3-19, 1875 (probably sited too low to the ground, but still amazing):

 

-36

-53

-55

-37

-40

-47

-50

-46

-30

-49

-51

-57

-58

-51

-55

-52

-51

-39

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