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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Flood advisory posted in downpour

The National Weather Service issued flood advisories for portions of the Inland Northwest inundated with this afternoon’s thunderstorms. Forecasters said that small streams and roadway catch basins would become overwhelmed with water, creating hazards for the public. The advisory has since been lifted. However, a new batch of storms is moving in from the southwest as of 4:40 p.m. Reader comments posted on this story indicate that some areas received a third to half inch of rain while the west side of Spokane barely saw sprinkles. Deer Park had 0.2 inches of rain in about 20 minutes while the Spokane airport had 0.01 inches. Today’s storm problems pale in comparison to the widespread damage and power outages caused by thunderstorm down draft winds on July 23 and Aug. 2. The flood advisories were posted for for Spokane County, western Kootenai County, southern Pend Oreille County and portions of Lincoln, Douglas and Grant counties. Avista Utilities this afternoon reported only a few scattered power outages. The cluster of storms that inundated Spokane was still moving north and eastward at 4 p.m. Radar images showed that a segment of the storms passed over Coeur d’Alene around 3 p.m. The initial downpour arrived in the downtown Spokane area about 1:30 p.m., creating standing water at intersections where catch basins were plugged or overwhelmed. Another cluster of thunderstorms was located north of Coeur d’Alene in Kootenai, Boundary and Bonner counties and slowly moving north. That group of storms was passing over Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and Clark Fork. The weather service said that brief heavy downpours, gusty winds, infrequent lightning and small hail were possible beneath the storms. The storms were moving mainly north to northeast at variable speeds from 5 to 15 mph.