While the east coast of the United States tends to endure the fallout from an icy winter storm time and time again, we enjoy a fairly tame winter here in Washington state. Unfortunately, though, this isn’t always the case. The Evergreen State has seen its share of treacherous winter weather, and these horrific storms from our history are proof that sometimes our “mild” winters can be anything but:
- The major blizzard of Whatcom County in 1950.
Robert Ashworth / Flickr January 13, 1950 was one of the worst winter days in western Washington’s history. Single-digit temperatures mixed with hurricane-force winds in Bellingham and made for a terrible time. Take a look at some interesting archival footage from this event here.
- The Spokane Snowpocalypse of 2008-2009.
Terry Bain / Flickr Record snowfall in the Spokane area stranded residents and put a real strain on numrous public services. Stores and government offices closed, and two feet of snow was accumulating at a time before plows could even try to help. Learn more about this historical event here.
- The January 2012 snowstorm that blanketed the entire Pacific Northwest.
NASA/Wikimedia This storm produced over 50 inches of snow, blanketing Western Washington and parts of Oregon and British Columbia. Sadly, one Washingtonian was killed. Learn more about this storm on Washington.edu’s website.
- The winter of 1935.
Chan360 / Flickr On January 21, 1935, a record-setting four feet of snow was recorded at Gunn’s Ranch in north-central Washington. That must have been fun. Click here to learn more about this historic winter.
- The Seattle Snowmageddon of 2004 - 2005.
Chris Blakeley/Flickr Everyone knows that Seattle, which is full of hills, basically shuts down when it snows. The winter of 2004-2005 brought the worst storm in many years, and locals could be seen sledding and snowboarding in the streets. Read more here!
- The Olympic Blowdown on January 29, 1921.
Jon. D. Anderson / Flickr It was wind, not snow, that was the major culprit in this winter storm. Winds of hurricane force hit the coast, with Western Washington, especially the Olympia area, getting hit the hardest. Mill stacks and telephone lines toppled, and A. A. Brown, chief engineer for the Anderson & Middleton Mill at Aberdeen, was killed.
- The 1910 blizzard that led to the worst avalanche in our history.
E.J. Frazier/Wikimedia In February 1910, Wellington, Washington, was hit with a terrible blizzard. On its worst day, 11 feet of snow fell. It was too much for anyone to handle, including the employees of the railroad. The resulting avalanche hit the railroad depot, throwing the trains 150 feet downhill, killing 96 people.
We’ve had some pretty intense storms here in Washington, and not just in winter. This one in the spring of 1972 was deadly, too. What’s the most intense weather event you can remember? Tell us about it in the comments!
Robert Ashworth / Flickr
January 13, 1950 was one of the worst winter days in western Washington’s history. Single-digit temperatures mixed with hurricane-force winds in Bellingham and made for a terrible time. Take a look at some interesting archival footage from this event here.
Terry Bain / Flickr
Record snowfall in the Spokane area stranded residents and put a real strain on numrous public services. Stores and government offices closed, and two feet of snow was accumulating at a time before plows could even try to help. Learn more about this historical event here.
NASA/Wikimedia
This storm produced over 50 inches of snow, blanketing Western Washington and parts of Oregon and British Columbia. Sadly, one Washingtonian was killed. Learn more about this storm on Washington.edu’s website.
Chan360 / Flickr
On January 21, 1935, a record-setting four feet of snow was recorded at Gunn’s Ranch in north-central Washington. That must have been fun. Click here to learn more about this historic winter.
Chris Blakeley/Flickr
Everyone knows that Seattle, which is full of hills, basically shuts down when it snows. The winter of 2004-2005 brought the worst storm in many years, and locals could be seen sledding and snowboarding in the streets. Read more here!
Jon. D. Anderson / Flickr
It was wind, not snow, that was the major culprit in this winter storm. Winds of hurricane force hit the coast, with Western Washington, especially the Olympia area, getting hit the hardest. Mill stacks and telephone lines toppled, and A. A. Brown, chief engineer for the Anderson & Middleton Mill at Aberdeen, was killed.
E.J. Frazier/Wikimedia
In February 1910, Wellington, Washington, was hit with a terrible blizzard. On its worst day, 11 feet of snow fell. It was too much for anyone to handle, including the employees of the railroad. The resulting avalanche hit the railroad depot, throwing the trains 150 feet downhill, killing 96 people.
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The OIYS Visitor Center
Winter Storms in Washington October 11, 2021 Tori Jane What is winter in Washington state like? Washington is a beautiful state where the winters are probably a lot milder than you’d expect. Folks tend to picture snowy, icy winters here, but most of the time, that’s not the case. Winters in western Washington are delightfully mild, with an average daytime temperature of about 79 degrees and a nighttime temperature average of 45 degrees. Sometimes, temperatures dip below the freezing mark, however, this only occurs a few times every year. Winters tend to be more wet than snowy; in fact, the two wettest months of the year are in the dead of winter – January and February! Thanks to the presence of the Pacific Ocean, winters in Washington state are quite bearable, especially when compared to places further north! What kind of natural disasters in Washington are there? Washington is one of those states who are nestled in a “just right” kind of zone; it’s not prone to things like tornadoes or ice storms, though occasionally, strange weather events do happen. The most likely natural disasters to occur in Washington is flooding, of which a “bad one” usually happens every four years or so. The next-highest-likely disaster in Washington is wildfires, which pose a very real and unfortunately rapidly growing threat to the entire state, but especially the drier parts east of the mountains. Landslides are a factor to worry about with flooding, of course, though landslides are not quite as likely to occur as, say, a flood. Ultimately, Washington is a pretty “safe” bet when it comes to gambling with natural disasters; the odds of a truly catastrophic disaster are low. Interested in some of the bad times Washington has had? Okay – how many of these do you remember?
The OIYS Visitor Center
Winter Storms in Washington
October 11, 2021
Tori Jane
What is winter in Washington state like? Washington is a beautiful state where the winters are probably a lot milder than you’d expect. Folks tend to picture snowy, icy winters here, but most of the time, that’s not the case. Winters in western Washington are delightfully mild, with an average daytime temperature of about 79 degrees and a nighttime temperature average of 45 degrees. Sometimes, temperatures dip below the freezing mark, however, this only occurs a few times every year. Winters tend to be more wet than snowy; in fact, the two wettest months of the year are in the dead of winter – January and February! Thanks to the presence of the Pacific Ocean, winters in Washington state are quite bearable, especially when compared to places further north! What kind of natural disasters in Washington are there? Washington is one of those states who are nestled in a “just right” kind of zone; it’s not prone to things like tornadoes or ice storms, though occasionally, strange weather events do happen. The most likely natural disasters to occur in Washington is flooding, of which a “bad one” usually happens every four years or so. The next-highest-likely disaster in Washington is wildfires, which pose a very real and unfortunately rapidly growing threat to the entire state, but especially the drier parts east of the mountains. Landslides are a factor to worry about with flooding, of course, though landslides are not quite as likely to occur as, say, a flood. Ultimately, Washington is a pretty “safe” bet when it comes to gambling with natural disasters; the odds of a truly catastrophic disaster are low. Interested in some of the bad times Washington has had? Okay – how many of these do you remember?
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Washington is a beautiful state where the winters are probably a lot milder than you’d expect. Folks tend to picture snowy, icy winters here, but most of the time, that’s not the case. Winters in western Washington are delightfully mild, with an average daytime temperature of about 79 degrees and a nighttime temperature average of 45 degrees. Sometimes, temperatures dip below the freezing mark, however, this only occurs a few times every year. Winters tend to be more wet than snowy; in fact, the two wettest months of the year are in the dead of winter – January and February! Thanks to the presence of the Pacific Ocean, winters in Washington state are quite bearable, especially when compared to places further north!
What kind of natural disasters in Washington are there?
Washington is one of those states who are nestled in a “just right” kind of zone; it’s not prone to things like tornadoes or ice storms, though occasionally, strange weather events do happen. The most likely natural disasters to occur in Washington is flooding, of which a “bad one” usually happens every four years or so. The next-highest-likely disaster in Washington is wildfires, which pose a very real and unfortunately rapidly growing threat to the entire state, but especially the drier parts east of the mountains. Landslides are a factor to worry about with flooding, of course, though landslides are not quite as likely to occur as, say, a flood. Ultimately, Washington is a pretty “safe” bet when it comes to gambling with natural disasters; the odds of a truly catastrophic disaster are low. Interested in some of the bad times Washington has had? Okay – how many of these do you remember?
