Wind is coming to the Inland Northwest, but it won’t be like last year

Southwest wind gusts up to 44 mph have been recorded so far on Friday, a far cry from the 71 mph winds that struck the Inland Northwest in November.

The gusts arrived in typical fashion on the tail end of a rain storm.

The prolonged shot of moisture brought 1.07 inches of rain to Spokane on Thursday and early Friday.

A wind advisory remained in effect through 7 p.m. on Friday with the strongest wind gusts expected to occur between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. in Spokane.

Few power outages were reported by Avista Utilities on Friday morning.

National Weather Service forecasters on Thursday tried to tamp down worries about the storm front but said the Friday winds still deserved caution.

Storm fears were stoked, in part, because of forecasts calling for high winds Saturday in Western Washington.

A high wind watch was posted on Friday for most of western Washington and Oregon for Saturday night. The central Puget Sound area, including Seattle and Tacoma, may see gusts to 65 mph.

The coastal winds are expected to come from a second low pressure area developing along a broad storm track that arrived over the region Thursday..

“It is the West Side that is going to see the major impacts,” said Bryce Williams, a forecaster for the weather service in Spokane.

Social media buzz heightened fears that a major windstorm was headed into Eastern Washington and North Idaho, Williams said.

Friday’s southwest winds, with gusts up to 48 mph in Spokane, will come after a day of rain Thursday from an “atmospheric river” extending to the subtropics of the Pacific Ocean.

Williams said it’s “more like a November storm happening in October.”

The National Weather Service posted a wind advisory for 2 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday for Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and the Palouse. The advisory is in effect from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the Columbia Basin and Waterville Plateau.

Drivers of high-profile vehicles, such as RVs, should proceed with caution, forecasters said.

With leaves still hanging on trees and the ground becoming saturated, there is a risk of limb damage and some downed trees, forecasters said.

Additionally, flooding is a possibility in areas of north-central and northeast Washington, where a flood advisory is in effect through 9:15 p.m. Friday.

The second storm pulse with remnants of Typhoon Songda is due over the Inland Northwest on Saturday into Sunday, with rain and gusty winds. That storm is not likely to be as strong as the initial surge of inclement weather Thursday and Friday in the Inland Northwest.

West of the Cascades, forecasters are watching the possibility of severe winds from Saturday’s storm. Computer models are showing the storm forming a deep surface low-pressure center off the Washington coast, sending it to the southern tip of Vancouver Island. That pattern is known to create powerful winds in the central Puget Sound basin.

The Inland Northwest is likely to see more rain and gusty winds, though nothing severe, from the second storm punch.

In his online forecast discussion, weather service forecaster Matt Fugazzi in Spokane said Eastern Washington and North Idaho will be on the “rainy and merely windy fringes of these tempests” brewing west of the Cascades.

Spokane International Airport had a half-inch of rain through 5 p.m. Thursday and 1.07 inches by Friday morning.

The Spokane Parks Department announced it will close the carousel and Skyride downtown on Saturday, but the Chinese Lantern Festival will go on. Efforts were being made Thursday to secure lantern features.

Spokane city public works employees were getting ready just in case, making sure equipment like chain saws was ready to go.

Officials warned people not to drive through pools of water that may collect if storm drains become clogged by leaves and debris. They also asked residents to clear drain openings, if possible.

Weather forecasters recommended that untethered yard items be taken indoors or given protection from wind.

At the University of Idaho, the outdoor Fan Zone pregame event was canceled because of the wind threat prior to a home football game against New Mexico State University.

The weather service also cautioned residents to be careful of flooding in north-central and northeast Washington, where rising creeks, slides and washouts may occur. Steep areas burned in wildfires are especially vulnerable to giving way.

In Western Washington and Oregon, warnings and watches have been posted for high winds, stormy seas, heavy rain and potential flooding.