The first of two strong Pacific fronts brought high winds to the coast as well as gusty winds to the Willamette Valley and interior lowlands of southwest Washington. This storm generated large seas impacting the coastline, and combined with rising river levels and high astronomical tides, resulted in some flooding along the coast due to poor drainage.  In addition to the wind and rain, heavy snow fell in the mountains and in the Columbia River Gorge where  transportation corridors between western and eastern Oregon and Washington were temporarily closed due the heavy snow accumulation.

Heavy Snow in NORTH OREGON CASCADES FOOTHILLS, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 03:00:00 to 03-JAN-22 16:00:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: SNOTEL

A very active frontal system brought heavy snow to the Northern Oregon Cascades Foothills on the 3rd with snow totals of 11 to 15 inches.

Heavy Snow in CASCADES IN LANE COUNTY, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 06:00:00 to 04-JAN-22 02:00:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: SNOTEL

A very active frontal system brought heavy snow to the Cascades in Lane County on the 3rd and 4th with snow totals mostly between 21 and 26 inches. One site, McKenzie SNOTEL (MKZO3) at 4770 feet had a total of 32 inches of snow.

Heavy Snow in CASCADE FOOTHILLS IN LANE COUNTY, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 16:00:00 to 04-JAN-22 08:00:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: SNOTEL

A very active frontal system brought heavy snow to the Cascade Foothills in Lane County on the 3rd and 4th. Railroad Overpass SNOTEL (RROO3) at 2680 feet had a snow total of 7 inches.

Flood in POLK, OREGON
From 04-JAN-22 09:00:00 to 04-JAN-22 20:20:00 (PST-8)
Location: MITCHELL
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: River/Stream Gage

The gauge on the Luckiamute River near Suver rose above flood stage of 27 feet at 0900PST, crested at 27.2 feet at 1315PST, then dropped below flood stage at 2020PST.

Winter Storm in WESTERN COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, OREGON
From 02-JAN-22 23:00:00 to 03-JAN-22 09:00:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Department of Highways

Heavy snow and ice accumulation resulted in the closure of I-84, a major transportation corridor connecting western and eastern Oregon and Washington.  Around 24 inches of snow fell in Stevenson, WA.  In the Multnomah Falls area along I-84, 5 inches of snow fell with an unknown amount of ice accumulation, leading to the highway closure.

Heavy Snow in CENTRAL COLUMBIA RIVER GORGE, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 00:00:00 to 03-JAN-22 12:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A very active frontal system brought heavy snow to the Columbia River Gorge on the 3rd with snow totals between 12 and 22 inches.  This resulted in the closure of I-84, a major transportation corridor connecting western and eastern Oregon and Washington.

High Surf in CENTRAL OREGON COAST, OREGON
From 02-JAN-22 15:40:00 to 03-JAN-22 05:40:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Buoy

The seas at buoy 46050 (20NM West of Newport, OR) rose above 24 feet at 11 seconds which would bring high surf conditions to the coastline. Seas peaked at 30 feet at 12 seconds on 1/3/2022 at 1940PST. High Surf conditions continued at times through 1/3/2022 at 0540PST, then seas gradually subsided.

High Surf in NORTHERN OREGON COAST, OREGON
From 02-JAN-22 18:40:00 to 03-JAN-22 16:40:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Buoy

The seas at buoy 46029 (20NM West of Columbia River Mouth) rose to 26 feet at 11 seconds which would bring high surf conditions to the coastline. High Surf conditions continued at times through 1/3/2022 at 1640PST, then seas gradually subsided.

High Wind in CENTRAL OREGON COAST, OREGON
From 02-JAN-22 19:18:00 to 03-JAN-22 02:02:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 75.00 MG
Property damage: 8.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong south winds were reported along the central Oregon coast with maximum sustained winds between 35 and 75 mph. A peak gust of 86 mph occurred on the Yaquina Bay Bridge (ODT38).  There was a downed tree and powerlines over highway 229 near Kernville at 2300PST.

High Wind in COAST RANGE OF NW OREGON, OREGON
From 02-JAN-22 19:18:00 to 02-JAN-22 22:48:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 74.00 MG
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong south winds were reported in the Coast Range of Northwest Oregon. Mt. Hebo (AR658) had a maximum sustained wind of 38 mph with a peak gust to 85 mph.

High Wind in CENTRAL COAST RANGE OF W OREGON, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 01:12:00 to 03-JAN-22 03:12:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 83.00 MG
Property damage: 30.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong south winds were reported in the Central Coast Range with maximum sustain winds around 40 mph with a peak gust of 96 mph at Cape Perpetua (AV549).  Near Deadwood, dozens of limbs snapped off Alder trees and dozens of conifers uprooted along Indian Creek Road.  In addition, over a dozen trees had fallen across North Fork Siuslaw road between Brickerville and Minerva.

High Wind in CASCADE FOOTHILLS IN LANE COUNTY, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 03:14:00 to 03-JAN-22 04:14:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 62.00 MG
Reported by: RAWS

Strong south wind of 38 mph with a peak gust of 71 mph was reported by the Trout Creek RAWS (TCFO3).

Flood in BENTON, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 09:20:00 to 05-JAN-22 03:40:00 (PST-8)
Location: FLYNN
Flood cause: Heavy Rain
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: River/Stream Gage

The gauge on the Marys River near Philomath rose above flood stage of 20 feet around 0920PST, crested at major flood stage of 21.0 feet at 1500 PST, then dropped below flood stage on the 5th at 0340PST.

Coastal Flood in CENTRAL OREGON COAST, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 11:00:00 to 03-JAN-22 16:00:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Highway 126 at Cushman was closed due to high water caused by a combination of high tide of 11.9 feet as measured at the South Beach tide gauge, and rising of the Siuslaw river due to recent heavy rain.  This event ranked #2 for highest tide at the Garibaldi tide gauge.

Coastal Flood in NORTHERN OREGON COAST, OREGON
From 03-JAN-22 11:18:00 to 03-JAN-22 14:30:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

During this time high seas and high river levels in the area contributed to the flooding.  As a result, the tide peaked around 12.5 feet around 1300PST at the Astoria tide gauge.  This event ranked #1 for highest tides at the Astoria and Cape Disappointment tide gauges, 12.5 feet and 11.8 feet (MLLW) respectively.

Heavy Snow in NORTH OREGON CASCADES, OREGON
From 02-JAN-22 21:00:00 to 03-JAN-22 17:00:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: SNOTEL

A very active frontal system brought heavy snow to the Northern Oregon Cascades on the 2nd and 3rd with snow totals mostly between 21 and 29 inches. Peak snow fall rates are estimated at 3 to 4 inches per hour. One particular site, Bear Grass SNOTEL (BKSO3) at 4720 feet had 34 inches snowfall. Another site, Red Hill SNOTEL (REDO3) at 4410 feet received 18 inches of snow in 6 hours, on the 3rd between 0200PST to 0800PST. US-20 over Santiam Pass was closed due to heavy snow.

High Wind in NORTHERN OREGON COAST, OREGON
From 02-JAN-22 11:30:00 to 02-JAN-22 21:45:00 (PST-8)
Magnitude: 67.00 MG
Property damage: 0.25K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong south winds were reported along the north Oregon coast with sustained winds between 45 and 55 mph with a peak gust to 77 mph at Garibaldi (GARO3.)  Around 2030PST tree branches were reported by ODOT over highway 26 near Necanicum resulting in traffic delays.