February 2017 Observations and Model Discussion for the Pacific Northwest

[ShawniganLake]

Wow!

 

I am not sure how much total snow has fallen here since Friday with the melting and compacting.

 

Probably right around 22 inches... we have 14 inches on the ground now. That puts my winter total at approximately 60 inches.

My winter total is in the low 40"s. 43" I think.

[snow_wizard]

Just picked up another dusting of snow here.  Still several inches on the ground from last night.  Hopefully everything will freeze up tonight.  Once wet snow gets crusty it's very hard to melt.

 

On another note looks like another brief shot of below normal temps a couple of days after it warms up.  The first half of Feb will average way below.  Put that together with a solidly cold Dec /Jan and you have an undeniably cold winter.  I still think this area ended up with less than half the snow it really should have had this winter though.

 

Finally....I think it's actually somewhat likely we will have another Alaska block in late Feb / early March.  The LRC is obviously up and running this winter and the MJO looks to be in the right position by then.

[snow_wizard]

My winter total is in the low 40"s. 43" I think.

 

No doubt SW BC and NW OR have really had a big time winter.  Some local areas probably historic.

[jcmcgaffey]

Yeah, it sounds like what SEA got was actually pretty representative of the metro area this time.

For sure was. I was surprised how well areas did just south of downtown seattle. I heard reports of up to 10" in west seattle. They had the perfect combo of elevation and being south enough to get the heavier precip than further north.

[snow_wizard]

My parents made it back to Bonney Lake and did their own measurement of 13 inches. My brother in Eatonville finished the day at two feet.

 

 

Very impressive.

[snow_wizard]

One issue that is still left for the Seattle area is to get a big Arctic front (or Arctic boundary) snowstorm.  Northern areas and Portland have certainly gotten theirs.  Seattle is way overdue.

[HighlandExperience]

One issue that is still left for the Seattle area is to get a big Arctic front (or Arctic boundary) snowstorm. Northern areas and Portland have certainly gotten theirs. Seattle is way overdue.

I agree with you. The lack of a true arctic blast will preclude Seattle from having a great winter.

 

We really should be sitting at 20+ inches based on all the missed snow oppurtunites.

 

One more decent storm will make this great!

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Just picked up another dusting of snow here.  Still several inches on the ground from last night.  Hopefully everything will freeze up tonight.  Once wet snow gets crusty it's very hard to melt.

 

On another note looks like another brief shot of below normal temps a couple of days after it warms up.  The first half of Feb will average way below.  Put that together with a solidly cold Dec /Jan and you have an undeniably cold winter.  I still think this area ended up with less than half the snow it really should have had this winter though.

 

Finally....I think it's actually somewhat likely we will have another Alaska block in late Feb / early March.  The LRC is obviously up and running this winter and the MJO looks to be in the right position by then.

 

I tend to agree with you on this. I think a March like 2002 or 2011 is on the table. I won't go as far as to say 2012...

[SilverFallsAndrew]

I agree with you. The lack of a true arctic blast will preclude Seattle from having a great winter.

 

We really should be sitting at 20+ inches based on all the missed snow oppurtunites.

 

One more decent storm will make this great!

 

I think a major arctic blast is very unlikely though there are late Feb 2011 March 1989 type exceptions. 

[stuffradio]

I think a major arctic blast is very unlikely though there are late Feb 2011 March 1989 type exceptions. 

March 2002/03 but that was not an arctic blast, just a snow blast for up here.

[HighlandExperience]

[VancouverIslandSouth]

I imagine a lot of people must be worn out from a late night last night. I called it early, but this area only get a small fraction of what fell down there. It's kind of strange being one of the few places with anything noteworthy to track tonight.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

Its been a interesting winter but i am still left not satisfied. The puget sound area has missed out big time and with all the cold air that has been around i am stunned that the Seattle area and especially the hood canal has not had a big over running event. As a snow total viewpoint i am only at 40% of what my area can achieve in a good winter. However it has been the coldest average i have ever seen here. I am watching the Wednesday night storm close as that could be some real heavy snow over here for a few hrs.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

March 2002/03 but that was not an arctic blast, just a snow blast for up here.

 

My first baseball game of the year on March 16, 2002 was delayed due to about an inch of grapuel/snow falling that morning. 

[Chewbacca Defense]

This storm has worked out pretty good for my neck of the woods.   I measured about 1 hr ago and it came in at about 5" but with the wind and compacting, I'm guessing it was at least 6"  I'll be I have 12-18" drifts in my back yard.

 

Tonight has done well, I shoveled my driveway at 5pm (not quite 2"), and again at 9pm, and got 2-2.5" during that period.  Of course I wish I got more but I can't complain.

 

About 8pm I ran some errands, and the roads aren't too bad (loose snow over compact snow/ice) but I did see a Subaru in someone's yard (it had obviously spun out and landed there) and a big rig got stuck on the hill at Hannegan and Sunset Hwy.  

 

 

It will be interesting to see what tomorrow morning brings....

[MossMan]

Its been a interesting winter but i am still left not satisfied. The puget sound area has missed out big time and with all the cold air that has been around i am stunned that the Seattle area and especially the hood canal has not had a big over running event. As a snow total viewpoint i am only at 40% of what my area can achieve in a good winter. However it has been the coldest average i have ever seen here. I am watching the Wednesday night storm close as that could be some real heavy snow over here for a few hrs.

Tonight has been extremely disappointing, my 5" from this morning with a 28 degree northerly wind that shifted to the evil south today has dropped my lovely snow down to 1" of 34 degree slop. Argh, I so want an Arctic blast!

[Tenochtitlan]

I wonder if there will be any overrunning snow or freezing rain on Wednesday night in the north Sound?

[North_County]

The snow event that just won't end.

 

Assuming this keeps up for another couple of hours, it will be 5 straight days with measurable, shovel-able snowfall.

 

Low 20s with a windchill in the teens at 10:45pm.

[Bham_Guy]

I wonder if there will be any overrunning snow or freezing rain on Wednesday night in the north Sound?

 

The Euro shows a little for Bellingham, probably less than an inch. A bit more in the north county.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

The snow event that just won't end.

Assuming this keeps up for another couple of hours, it will be 5 straight days with measurable, shovel-able snowfall.

Low 20s with a windchill in the teens at 10:45pm.

What is the total depth?

[Brennan]

The Euro shows a little for Bellingham, probably less than an inch. A bit more in the north county.

Seems like Whatcom county posters are dominating the forum tonight. It's so weird you know, a couple days ago it looked like all eyes were pointed towards the south sound to Portland... but we've quietly done pretty well up here as a whole (city of bellingham)... the county has done extremely well. My sister in law is staying with is the next couple of days because she lives in Kendal and they have almost 3' of snow. She has some pretty incredible pictures. Snow almost to the top of an outdoor green garbage can, and snow approaching the railing of a big trampoline... county is approaching december 1996 status right now.

[Brennan]

kendal washington, east of Sumas, Whafcom county at about 500 feet elevation..

 

It has probably snowed at least 6" since these pics were taken this morning too.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

Look up the linden wa observation over the last cuople days. The wind there has been relentless. That area can be amazing.

[Bham_Guy]

Seems like Whatcom county posters are dominating the forum tonight. It's so weird you know, a couple days ago it looked like all eyes were pointed towards the south sound to Portland... but we've quietly done pretty well up here as a whole (city of bellingham)... the county has done extremely well. My sister in law is staying with is the next couple of days because she lives in Kendal and they have almost 3' of snow. She has some pretty incredible pictures. Snow almost to the top of an outdoor green garbage can, and snow approaching the railing of a big trampoline... county is approaching december 1996 status right now.

 

Insane numbers around the county for sure. I'm happy with the 7 inches I've had on this side of town, but seems pretty weak compared to other areas.

[SilverFallsAndrew]

Wow amazing pics guys!

[Brennan]

And here are a couple from my parents house today. We went there two separate times for sledding. Both times we had at least one heavy snow shower.

[Brennan]

Insane numbers around the county for sure. I'm happy with the 7 inches I've had on this side of town, but seems pretty weak compared to other areas.

It just goes to show how delicate snowfall is in this area. Had the low pressure centers a couple days ago been 50-75 miles further south, who knows maybe less than that, Bellingnham would have had snow all day instead of an ungodly amount of 32* rain. I'd have to guess it would have been at least a foot of snow had it snowed all day saturday. Maybe next time!!

[Arctic Front]

Insane numbers around the county for sure. I'm happy with the 7 inches I've had on this side of town, but seems pretty weak compared to other areas.

7" total this winter, or for this event?

[Jesse]

Some shots from the Astoria column this afternoon.

 

 

 

[VancouverIslandSouth]

Still snowing steadily here in Victoria, but a bit warmer at 30F now and the snow has slowed down a little. I noticed they came by and plowed the road for the first time this year. Up until now snowfalls have been treated with a chemical solution and natural warming; too much snow for that this time (though they tried it once earlier today). I'm guessing there's been somewhere between 6~7". I can see signs of the snow letting up now on the radar. It will be interesting to see what the morning brings.

[Bham_Guy]

7" total this winter, or for this event?

 

Since this past Friday.

[snow_wizard]

Tonight has been extremely disappointing, my 5" from this morning with a 28 degree northerly wind that shifted to the evil south today has dropped my lovely snow down to 1" of 34 degree slop. Argh, I so want an Arctic blast!

Your snow must have had much lower water content than mine. I had 7 inches and it only dropped to around 4 to 5 today. I am pretty blocked from south winds so that probably helped.

[Tenochtitlan]

Why did it snow in Astoria but not Portland? Was it because the low went north of Portland?

[North_County]

What is the total depth?

Super-scientific, I know, but I just re-shoveled the walk-way on the NW side of the house and the depth was above my knees. So, 2-ish feet. With compaction and an insane amount of drifting over the past 24+ hours, total snowfall is certainly more than that, but hard to quantify without the right equipment.

 

The drifts on the south side of the house are chest-deep. I'm not particularly tall, so 4 - 5 feet, and my neighborhood is somewhat protected from the lower-level NE outflow winds. I took a little drive this afternoon, and some of the farms with open fields to the NE had drifts above the doorframes.

 

It goes without saying that any of the above totals are unofficial.

[snow_wizard]

kendal washington, east of Sumas, Whafcom county at about 500 feet elevation..

 

It has probably snowed at least 6" since these pics were taken this morning too.

Snow like that is awesome. It doesn't load the trees so you end up with little trouble from falling trees, power outages, etc. I love dry snow, but I'll take anything that wants to fall.

[MR.SNOWMIZER]

Every time its snows my dad always brings up 1968. He says he could bury a yard stick.

[snow_wizard]

Super-scientific, I know, but I just re-shoveled the walk-way on the NW side of the house and the depth was above my knees. So, 2-ish feet. With compaction and an insane amount of drifting over the past 24+ hours, total snowfall is certainly more than that, but hard to quantify without the right equipment.

 

The drifts on the south side of the house are chest-deep. I'm not particularly tall, so 4 - 5 feet, and my neighborhood is somewhat protected from the lower-level NE outflow winds. I took a little drive this afternoon, and some of the farms with open fields to the NE had drifts above the doorframes.

 

It goes without saying that any of the above totals are unofficial.

Almost sounds like a mini version of Jan 1950. I have a picture from that area that shows a drift literally covering half of a house. It sounds like Sumas got totally cut off this time which also happened in 50. Really incredible winter up there for you guys.

[snow_wizard]

Look up the linden wa observation over the last cuople days. The wind there has been relentless. That area can be amazing.

Some winters it can look like North Dakota there. Very harsh sometimes.

[North_County]

Almost sounds like a mini version of Jan 1950. I have a picture from that area that shows a drift literally covering half of a house. It sounds like Sumas got totally cut off this time which also happened in 50. Really incredible winter up there for you guys.

Yeah, making it into work wasn't going to happen this morning. And I hate missing work unplanned. Snow drifting over Hwy 9 and Hwy 546 seems to cut off Sumas from the rest of the county at least every 5-10 years. Last time was February 2014, but that was only for a few hours.

[Bham_Guy]

Snow like that is awesome. It doesn't load the trees so you end up with little trouble from falling trees, power outages, etc. I love dry snow, but I'll take anything that wants to fal

 

Yeah, but they had a lot of ice and heavier snow a couple days ago, which did knock their power out for about a day.