Potentially damaging wind event hitting Spokane region Wednesday night

A low pressure system is doing an odd thing as it leaves the West Coast and enters Eastern Washington: it’s gathering strength.

As a result, the National Weather Service and Avista Utilities have issued high-wind warnings about a storm that could bring gusts Wednesday night as high as 70 mph to Spokane and 60 mph to Coeur d’Alene. 

“We are trying to hone in on being safe,” said Antoinette Serrato, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “We are telling people not to travel over mountain passes and take precautions with the wind.”

The system could bring blizzard-like conditions to the Cascade Mountains and some light snow and rain in Spokane, but the main impact is going to bring winds that could topple trees and cause widespread power outages, both Avista officials and Serrato said.

The storm is expected to be on par with the wind event on December 17 that killed a man near Coeur d’Alene and knocked out power to more than 100,000 people.

“Usually, winds around this kind of magnitude would lead to numerous widespread power outages and damage to unsecured items,” Serrato said of the impending storm. “And, it will lead to difficult travel for high-profile vehicles.”

Blow begins

Serrato said the weather system began as a “pretty deep” low pressure system moving through the area. 

“We had been picking up on high wind signals for a while. Then about a day ago, we put out a high wind watch,” she said. “Probably for the last three or four days we have been messaging about something quite impactful.”

March is a transition time between the cold temperatures of winter and warming highs of spring, bringing unpredictable weather patterns. But this storm stands out, she said.

“This is a pretty strong pattern for this time of year,” Serrato said. “We don’t usually see low pressure systems strengthen as they move inland. It’s similar to the December event. The magnitudes will be fairly similar.”

The major winds will start as breezes that could peak with gusts as high as 20 mph Wednesday morning before they begin to pick up in intensity.

“Around 10 a.m. to noon (on Wednesday), that’s when things kind of jump up,” Serrato said. “Then as we get through the day and into the nighttime, that’s when they really ramp up in terms of strength and gusts.”

The biggest impacts likely will come when most residents are sleeping Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

“For Spokane, we could see 60-to-70 mph wind gusts from 2 a.m.-to-7 a.m. Thursday morning. The sustained winds could be in the the 40 mph-range,” she said. “Coeur d’Alene will be slightly below, with 50-to-60 mph wind gusts.”

The blowing conditions also could bring some snow early Wednesday before transitioning to rain. The highs and lows will range from the mid 40s to high 30s for most of the rest of the week until Sunday, which should have a low of 26.

“Everything in Spokane would be mostly rain,” Serrato said. 

However, as a result of the system, some areas of the Palouse and river systems east of the Cascades could have flows that reach minor flood stages, she said.

“Definitely, the biggest threat is the wind,” Serrato said.