A widespread, winter system brought snow to much of Eastern Washington on December 30th and 31st. The initial snowfall began overnight into the early morning hours of the 30th. This resulted in difficult morning commutes and numerous collisions and spin offs, especially in the Spokane area on Interstate 90 to Ritzville. Significant snow fell throughout Eastern Washington with the greatest totals, up to 8 - 12 inches, in northeastern Washington north of Highway 2.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 22:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter, 2 miles east of Five Mile, recorded 10.1 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 08:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 08:25:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

A CoCoRaHS observer, 2 miles southwest of Clayton, recorded 11.7 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS, WASHINGTON
From 30-DEC-20 10:30:00 to 31-DEC-20 10:30:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter, in Metaline Falls, recorded 10.5 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 19:20:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, 3 miles west-southwest of Colbert, reported 8.5 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 22:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

The National Weather Service office in Spokane recorded 8.7 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 30-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 30-DEC-20 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Spokane International Airport recorded 8.1 inches of new snow accumulation. This broke the previous snow fall record for this date of 5.4 inches set in 1990.

Heavy Snow in NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS, WASHINGTON
From 30-DEC-20 05:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 05:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Park/Forest Service

The Mount Spokane Ski Resort recorded 20 inches total snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 16:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, in Mead, reported 8.5 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, 2 miles southwest of Cheney, reported 8.5 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 16:52:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, in Spokane, reported 7.0 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 15:09:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, 1 mile east-northeast of Tyler, reported 8.0 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in MOSES LAKE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 20:52:00 to 30-DEC-20 13:45:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, in Moses Lake, reported 5.0 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 23:55:00 to 30-DEC-20 14:30:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, in Newport, reported 5.0 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 10:30:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter, 8 miles southeast of Northport, recorded 9.1 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in WASHINGTON PALOUSE, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 15:30:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

A member of the public, in Colfax, reported 7.2 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in WASHINGTON PALOUSE, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 19:35:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter, in Oakesdale, recorded 8.5 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 18:45:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter, in Marshall, recorded 11.0 inches of new snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 21:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 15:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

In the Upper Columbia Basin, from Ritzville to Odessa, there were reports of 4 to 6 inches of new snow accumulation. Vehicles driving too fast for poor road conditions led to many collisions and slide offs along Interstate 90 and other state highways.

Heavy Snow in WASHINGTON PALOUSE, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 22:30:00 to 30-DEC-20 20:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Heavy snow accumulation was not as widespread in the Washington Palouse, compared to locations to its north, but there were spotter and CoCoRaHS reports from 4 to 8.5 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow in EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES, WASHINGTON
From 29-DEC-20 08:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 08:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Department of Highways

The Washington Department of Transportation recorded 20 inches of new snow accumulation at Stevens Pass. This occurred within a 48 hour time period and led to difficult driving conditions from snow covered roadways.

Heavy Snow in NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS, WASHINGTON
From 30-DEC-20 05:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 05:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Across the varied elevation in northeastern Washington, there were reports 4 to 20 inches of new snow accumulation. Two mountain resorts, 49 Degrees North Ski and Mountain Spokane, reported 12 - 20 inches at the summits. Other locations, from Clayton to Northport, received 5 to 12 inches.

Heavy Snow in SPOKANE AREA, WASHINGTON
From 30-DEC-20 00:00:00 to 31-DEC-20 00:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Across Spokane County, there were reports of total snowfall from 5 to 11 inches. Spokane International Airport recorded 8.1 inches of new snow accumulation. This broke the previous snow fall record for this date of 5.4 inches set in 1990. By late afternoon, Washington State Patrol reported that there were more than 100 crashes, with of them 65 in Spokane County. On Interstate 90 in the Spokane metropolitan area, the snowy morning commute created collisions, spin-offs, and travel delays. No reports of fatalities and the total amount of injuries are unknown.