March 2, 2023 — A large winter storm covered most of Oregon with snow, including Florence and Mapleton, starting during the early morning hours of Feb. 22 and continuing throughout the day.

Measurement of actual snow were low on the coast with Florence reporting between 1 and 2 inches, depending on elevation. Deadwood reported 4 inches and the hills around Yachats also reported receiving about 4 inches of snow.

Schools were closed in both the Mapleton and Siuslaw school districts as road conditions prevented normal bus routes from running.

The storm even brought rare snow on the beach, which gave popular local tourist attraction Sea Lion Caves a dusting of the white stuff. The Caves closed early, at 1 p.m., in hopes of giving its employees a chance to get home before the roads got too bad.

“When the sun came out for a short time, we took the opportunity to get our employees home safe before more snow came,” said Jim McMillan, Sea Lion Caves General Manager. “Snow got pretty thick north of town.”

Things were back to normal at Sea Lion Caves the next day. Same was the case at local schools, much to the chagrin of the young Sailors and Vikings, many of which had just got their first taste of the joys of a snow day the previous day. However, the following week, on Feb. 28, snow blanketed the area overnight, causing another snow day for Mapleton and Siuslaw schools.