Lightning strikes, gusty winds bring unstable weather to Spokane

As gusty winds and small amounts of rain swept through Spokane on Sunday, so did lightning strikes.

Jennifer Simmons, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane, said there was a “spit of precipitation,” but Spokane still has not seen measurable rainfall since July 21. Deer Park got about half an inch of rain, but Simmons said the storms were expected to leave Spokane by Sunday night.

The weather service did not see many lightning strikes as of Sunday afternoon, Simmons said, but they were awaiting the rest of the data .

A lightning strike snapped two powerlines on Broadway Avenue near Avista Stadium, causing the temporary closure of Broadway as well as the cancellation of the Spokane Indians game scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday. At its height, outages affected about 1,600 customers in the area, according to the utility.

Fire officials at the scene said the strike did not cause any damage to nearby buildings, and no injuries were reported after the lightning broke the lines. Restoration was not expected to take long, officials said.