High wind watch issued for Tuesday in the Spokane area

A high wind watch has been issued for the Spokane area from Tuesday afternoon through Tuesday evening.

“Definitely expect any of the fall foliage to fly off the trees,” said Joey Clevenger, National Weather Service Spokane meteorologist.

The wind watch was issued Monday morning and covers the Upper Columbia Basin, the Palouse, Spokane, Wenatchee and the Waterville Plateau.

West winds are forecast at 25 to 35 mph with gusts of 50 to 60 mph.

“This is really just due to a pretty strong upper level jet that’s passing over the region,” Clevenger said.

That upper level jet higher in the atmosphere contains wind speeds of 150 to 170 mph which mix down causing increased winds in Spokane, Clevenger said.

While breezy winds were expected Monday, things should speed up over night, Clevenger said.

He warned that mountain passes could be dangerous overnight with high winds.

On Tuesday afternoon Spokane residents can expect fall leaves in their yards and potential power outages if branches fall on power lines, Clevenger said.

However, Clevenger added, the windstorm likely will not be as intense as the 2015 storm that caused more than 180,000 power outages.

“That was very concentrated and well-formed over the Spokane area. This one is more generalized over the whole basin,” he said.

Overall, temperatures will be cooler in the Spokane area than they have been the first two weeks of October, Clevenger said.

Highs are forecast in the 50s and 60s with lows in the 30s.