Winds lashing Inland Northwest
A day after record high temperatures were recorded in the Columbia Basin, a windy winter storm was pushing into Eastern Washington and North Idaho.
A high-wind warning was in effect Thursday night throughout the region, and authorities warned motorists that wind-blown rain or snow could make driving hazardous.
Some snow fell Thursday afternoon at Fairchild Air Force Base, but Spokane and most of northeastern Washington received rain. The Washington State Patrol reported a couple of snow-related accidents in the Colville area but few problems elsewhere in northeastern Washington.
It was a different story in North Central Washington and in North Idaho. Starting about 4 p.m., Idaho State Police troopers were responding to numerous crashes in Bonner and Boundary counties. Heavy snowfall was making roads slick, and whiteout conditions compounded the problem, officers said.
The storm largely bypassed Coeur d’Alene and the Silver Valley, and by 8 p.m. it had passed into Canada. Interstate 90 was wet but clear throughout North Idaho, although a semitruck accident blocked some lanes near Wallace for a time.
An Idaho State Police spokesman said a second storm front was expected to pass through North Idaho later in the night.
More than 10 inches of snow had fallen Thursday night in Okanogan County, and there were widespread power and telephone outages. Even cellular telephone service was down in many areas.
Electrical transformers were popping all over the county, and there was no power at all in the Methow Valley, according to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies in the Okanogan, Wash., office were forced to use emergency generators for a short time Thursday night.
Spokane air travelers experienced delays and at least four flights were canceled because of heavy weather in Portland, where airlines were temporarily grounded Thursday night, and in Seattle. Spokane International Airport spokesman Todd Woodard said some small cargo aircraft bound for Portland or Seattle diverted to Spokane.
The National Weather Service issued a high-wind warning for Eastern Washington and North Idaho, starting at 7 p.m. Thursday and continuing through 10 a.m. today. Meteorologists said sustained southwest winds of 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph – enough to cause property damage – were likely.
The same storm was expected to bring up to 14 inches of snow at elevations above 3,500 feet and perhaps 1 to 3 inches at lower elevations.
Only a day earlier, the Weather Service logged a record 51-degree high for the day at Moses Lake. The previous daily record high of 50 was set in 2001.
The 37-degree overnight low temperature in Moses Lake also was unseasonably warm, tying the record set in 1973.