Gusty winds to give way to sunny Tuesday in Spokane

Parts of North Idaho and Eastern Washington, including Spokane’s South Hill, were bombarded by gusty winds as fast as 45 mph on Monday afternoon.

The National Weather Service urged motorists to use extra caution as the wind carried huge amounts of dust over highways throughout the Columbia Basin and the Palouse.

Trooper Jeff Sevigney of the Washington State Patrol said Highway 26 was blocked in both directions Monday after a crash between a car and a semitruck near the town of Dusty, in Whitman County.

No serious injuries were reported, but Sevigney said troopers were reporting “extremely poor visibility due to blowing dust.”

Avista Utilities did not report any widespread power outages in Spokane.

The wind was forecast to die down overnight, and the weather service said Tuesday would be mostly sunny with a high temperature of about 67 degrees.

Wednesday was forecast to be mostly cloudy with a high of 76 degrees and a 20% chance of rain after 11 a.m.