Overnight storms knock out power in Spokane Valley

Overnight thunderstorms knocked out power to about 7,000 Avista customers in Spokane Valley, most of which have been resolved early this morning. Hundreds of lightning strikes were reported in the area, though only about a fifth of an inch of rain fell in downtown Spokane, according to the National Weather Service. A flash flood watch remains in effect through Friday for parts of northeast Washington. A flash flood watch is in effect for the northern mountains of Eastern Washington; portions of North Idaho, including Kootenai, Bonner and Boundary counties; and the Washington Cascades for continued thunderstorms with heavy rain through Friday afternoon. Thunderstorms are predicted to continue in Spokane through the morning, and possibly rebuild later in the day with renewed rains overnight Thursday into Friday as a low-pressure system inches its way east. A severe thunderstorm watch was issued this afternoon for the southern counties of Washington from the Cascades eastward and for the central Idaho Panhandle and Lewiston area. Temperatures are expected to plummet from a high today of 83 down to the upper 60s to mid-70s on Friday through Sunday. Gusty winds are possible in conjunction with thunderstorms. Sunny skies will return next week. Spokane Police reported several traffic lights were not operating this morning due to the outages. Motorists are asked to treat those intersections as four-way stops, and to be mindful of wet pavement.