Alert archive / Idaho / Flash Flood Warnings in 2026

Flash Flood Warning 2, NWS Spokane, WA

May 28, 2026Benewah County, Idaho

NWS Spokane, WA issued this flash flood warning at May 28, 2026, 7:01 PM PDT for Benewah County, Idaho. It was in force for 3 hr. 1 report came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
May 28, 2026, 7:01 PM PDT (02:01 UTC)
Expired
May 28, 2026, 9:40 PM PDT
In force
3 hr
Issued by
NWS Spokane, WA
Area
Storm-based polygon
Flood severity
None

County Benewah County, ID

The radar

The Spokane radar (KOTX), 86 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 02:00 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
May 28, 7:30 PM PDTFLASH FLOOD3 Nw Sanders, IDPublic reported road impassable due to rushing water over Old Sanders Road between Sanders and Tensed.

Local storm reports filed while the alert was in force, from inside its polygon or its counties.

Did it verify

Verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow matched one storm report to this flash flood warning; the first came 29 minutes after it went out.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Spokane, WA (KOTX), launched 00:00Z, 2.0 hours before the alert went out and 78 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Spokane, WA at 00:00Z on 2026-05-29Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 1168 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Spokane, WA at 00:00Z on 2026-05-29The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -3 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
1168 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-53 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
2331 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
24 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-3 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
9 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
-0.2

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

428 
WGUS56 KOTX 290201
FFWOTX
IDC009-290500-
/O.NEW.KOTX.FF.W.0002.260529T0201Z-260529T0500Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
Flash Flood Warning
National Weather Service Spokane WA
701 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

The National Weather Service in Spokane has issued a

* Flash Flood Warning for...
  Southwestern Benewah County in the panhandle of Idaho...

* Until 1000 PM PDT.

* At 701 PM PDT, Doppler radar indicated thunderstorms producing 
  heavy rain across the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or 
  expected to begin shortly.

  HAZARD...Flash flooding caused by thunderstorms.

  SOURCE...Radar.

  IMPACT...Flash flooding of small creeks and streams, urban
           areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as
           other poor drainage and low-lying areas.

* Some locations that will experience flash flooding include...
  Tensed and Sanders.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood 
deaths occur in vehicles.

Please report observed flooding to local emergency services or law 
enforcement and request they pass this information to the National 
Weather Service when you can do so safely.

&&

LAT...LON 4703 11684 4705 11684 4705 11685 4708 11690
      4708 11693 4707 11694 4709 11698 4712 11697
      4713 11700 4713 11704 4722 11704 4710 11671
      4704 11672

FLASH FLOOD...RADAR INDICATED

$$

JW
1 follow-up statement
101 
WGUS76 KOTX 290440
FFSOTX

Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Spokane WA
940 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

IDC009-290450-
/O.CAN.KOTX.FF.W.0002.000000T0000Z-260529T0500Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Benewah ID-
940 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

...FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS CANCELLED FOR SOUTHWESTERN BENEWAH 
COUNTY...

The heavy rain has ended. Flooding is no longer expected to pose a 
threat. Please continue to heed remaining road closures.

&&

LAT...LON 4703 11684 4705 11684 4705 11685 4708 11690
      4708 11693 4707 11694 4709 11698 4712 11697
      4713 11700 4713 11704 4722 11704 4710 11671
      4704 11672

$$

Butler

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at May 28, 2:08 PM PDT, 4 hours 53 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Scattered severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening (Thursday). Some storms will be capable of producing damaging outflow winds, large hail, and heavy downpours. Some storms will continue into Friday over the northern mountains and Idaho Panhandle.
  • Very warm this afternoon with minor to moderate HeatRisk. Heat related impacts possible to those that are sensitive to the heat especially to those without adequate cooling and/or hydration.
  • Gusty winds through the Cascade gaps into the Wenatchee Area, Waterville Plateau, and Moses Lake Area Friday afternoon and evening with a 40-50% chance for gusts of greater than 40 mph.
Area forecast discussion, May 28, 2:08 PM PDT, 4 hours 53 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
208 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Scattered severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening
  (Thursday). Some storms will be capable of producing damaging
  outflow winds, large hail, and heavy downpours. Some storms
  will continue into Friday over the northern mountains and
  Idaho Panhandle.

- Very warm this afternoon with minor to moderate HeatRisk.
  Heat related impacts possible to those that are sensitive to
  the heat especially to those without adequate cooling and/or
  hydration.

- Gusty winds through the Cascade gaps into the Wenatchee Area,
  Waterville Plateau, and Moses Lake Area Friday afternoon and
  evening with a 40-50% chance for gusts of greater than 40 mph.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Warm and muggy conditions today will give way to thunderstorms in
the late afternoon and evening. Some thunderstorms will be strong to
severe and capable of producing damaging outflow winds, hail, and
heavy downpours. Breezy to windy conditions on Friday especially
through the Cascade gaps. The weekend will be drier and occasionally
breezy.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

Rest of this afternoon through Friday: A vigorous shortwave is
rounding a deep upper level low pressure system off to our south.
The center of the low is situated over central California and the
shortwave is currently pushing across northern Nevada. A highly
diffluent flow pattern aloft and a strong vorticity maximum in the
northeast quadrant of the this low pressure system will be the
kicker that initiates convection across the Inland Northwest today.
Strong to severe thunderstorms are already being observed in western
Idaho to eastern Oregon. The potential for severe thunderstorms will
initially favor the southern Idaho Panhandle into southeast
Washington by 3-4 pm. Thunderstorms are then progged to develop
north to northwest with time through the rest of the afternoon into
the evening. Thunderstorms will initially favor supercell
development with the potential for hail of 1.5-2.0 inches and along
with damaging outflow winds. There is a non-zero chance for
tornadoes with supercells over the southeast portion of the forecast
area; a very low chance of 2-4 percent within a 25 mile radius, but
not of the question this afternoon.

Thunderstorms are then expected to organize along a line and
transition to favoring damaging winds over producing large hail as
this line progresses across the Columbia Basin into the Spokane-
Coeur d'Alene Area. The amount of CAPE in the 1000-3000 J/kg range
with 20-30 kts of 0-6 km bulk shear is enough for the potential of
damaging wind gusts along the leading edge of the line of
thunderstorms. As the cold pool gets established, we could see winds
in the 60-70 mph range. This will not only bring the potential for
down trees and power lines, but also bring the potential for blowing
dust across the Columbia Basin, into the Palouse and northward
along the Highway 2 corridor. Blowing dust may be enough to
reduce visibility down to a mile or less and result in rapid
changes to visibility.

The line of thunderstorms is expected to push north of the Canadian
border between midnight to 2AM. A shortwave pushing in off of the
eastern Pacific will bring additional convection on Friday primarily
across the northern mountains, but also across the southern Idaho
Panhandle. We won't be nearly as unstable as today, but there is
still the potential for a few stronger thunderstorms that brings
small hail, gusty outflow winds, and brief heavy downpours. The
shortwave will also tighten the westerly gradient with gusty winds
of 35-45 mph through the Cascade gaps into the Wenatchee Area,
Waterville Plateau, and into the western Columbia Basin.

Friday night through Thursday: The disturbance that moves
across on Friday looks to push much of the moisture and
instability east of the region by Saturday. It also will bring
temperatures down a bit with temperatures back down to near
normal in the 60s to low 70s. Overall a much drier forecast for
the weekend and occasionally breezy. Showers and isolated
thunderstorms may hang on over the Idaho Panhandle into the
Northeast Mountains through the weekend into Monday as the
shortwave looks to stall over the northern Rocky Mountains and
possibly form a closed low circulation. Temperatures warm back
up above normal next week into the mid to upper 70s by Tuesday
into Wednesday. Models are indicating a shortwave disturbance
around the Wednesday into Thursday time frame that would bring
the potential for breezy winds and also a threat for showers and
thunderstorms particularly over Northeast Washington and into
the Idaho Panhandle. /SVH

&&

.AVIATION...
18Z TAFs:

WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WITH A THREAT OF SEVERE
WEATHER INCLUDING DAMAGING WINDS, BLOWING DUST AND LARGE HAIL

There is good model agreement that strong to severe
thunderstorms will threaten all TAF sites picking initiating
between 22-01Z moving northward across the eastern Washington
and the Idaho Panhandle through 08Z. Main impacts with these
thunderstorms will be for severe wind gusts up to 70+ kts,
torrential rainfall, and hail. For hail, there is the potential
for isolated storms to produce up to ping pong to baseball
sized hail with KLWS and KPUW carrying the higher threat.
Another potential impact will come from models supporting
damaging winds developing at the leading edge of the
thunderstorms, which will also have the potential to pick up
significant blowing dust across the Columbia Basin (KEPH/KMWH)
prior to heavy rain. It's possible some of this dust could
briefly lower visibility at KGEG, KSFF, KCOE, and KPUW, but
confidence in BLDU too low to include for these TAF sites.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS:
There is high confidence of impactful thunderstorms over all TAF
sites from 22Z Thursday through 08Z Friday. Models support with
moderate confidence of 50-60kt gusts with thunderstorms and
localized 70kt wind gusts with severe thunderstorms.

-----------------------

Confidence descriptors:
Low - Less than a 30 percent chance
Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance
High - Greater than a 70 percent chance

For additional probabilistic information for NWS Spokane airports,

please refer to the Aviation Dashboard on our webpage:
https:/www.weather.gov/otx/avndashboard

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane        54  74  47  65  45  67 /  70  10  20   0  10  20
Coeur d'Alene  57  74  49  62  46  62 /  70  10  20   0  30  30
Pullman        50  69  43  59  41  62 /  70  10  10   0   0  10
Lewiston       56  76  52  65  48  69 /  60  40  30  10   0   0
Colville       50  76  43  69  41  70 /  80  50  60  20  10  30
Sandpoint      54  75  48  63  44  61 /  60  30  30  10  40  60
Kellogg        56  75  48  61  45  60 /  70  10  10  20  40  40
Moses Lake     55  77  44  72  42  75 /  80  20   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      62  73  49  70  48  75 /  70  40  10   0   0   0
Omak           59  76  48  73  48  75 /  80  80  30  10   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...None.
ID...None.

&&

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 28, 6:15 PM PDT, 46 minutes before
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Spokane WA
615 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0558 PM     Hail             Kamiah                  46.23N 116.03W
05/28/2026  E1.00 Inch       Lewis              ID   Public

            Report from mPING: Quarter (1.00 in.).

&&

KD
Special weather statement, May 28, 6:18 PM PDT, 43 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Spokane WA
618 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

IDZ003-004-290200-
Central Panhandle Mountains ID-Idaho Palouse ID-
618 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Latah
and southwestern Benewah Counties through 700 PM PDT...

At 617 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 9
miles northeast of Potlatch, or 22 miles south of St. Maries, moving
west at 15 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Tensed and Sanders.

This includes U.S. Highway 95 in Idaho between mile markers 364 and
382.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until midnight PDT for
the Panhandle of Idaho.

&&

LAT...LON 4709 11661 4694 11668 4696 11700 4718 11692
TIME...MOT...LOC 0117Z 097DEG 12KT 4702 11674

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH

Butler
Special weather statement, May 28, 6:24 PM PDT, 37 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Spokane WA
624 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

IDZ004-290200-
Central Panhandle Mountains ID-
624 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of east central Latah
County through 700 PM PDT...

At 624 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Bovill, or 26 miles north of Orofino. This storm was nearly
stationary.

HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and nickel size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Deary, Bovill, and Helmer.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm and may lead to
localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until midnight PDT for
the Panhandle of Idaho.

&&

LAT...LON 4686 11667 4695 11641 4692 11633 4671 11633
      4668 11635
TIME...MOT...LOC 0124Z 037DEG 3KT 4687 11640

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH

Butler
Special weather statement, May 28, 6:33 PM PDT, 28 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Spokane WA
633 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

IDZ004-290200-
Central Panhandle Mountains ID-
633 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of west central
Shoshone and northeastern Benewah Counties through 700 PM PDT...

At 633 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 13
miles southwest of Wallace, moving northwest at 30 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Calder, Huckleberry Campground, and St. Joe.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until midnight PDT for
the Panhandle of Idaho.

&&

LAT...LON 4733 11595 4722 11601 4729 11637 4751 11622
TIME...MOT...LOC 0133Z 122DEG 27KT 4731 11607

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH

Butler
Special weather statement, May 28, 6:50 PM PDT, 11 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Spokane WA
650 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

WAZ035-290215-
Upper Columbia Basin WA-
650 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

...A strong thunderstorm will impact portions of northwestern Adams
and southwestern Lincoln Counties through 715 PM PDT...

At 650 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 20
miles northwest of Ritzville, or 30 miles northeast of Moses Lake,
moving north at 10 mph.

HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and nickel size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Odessa and Irby.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until midnight PDT for
eastern Washington.

&&

LAT...LON 4728 11859 4724 11878 4736 11892 4744 11860
TIME...MOT...LOC 0150Z 165DEG 7KT 4732 11871

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH

Butler
Special weather statement, May 28, 6:55 PM PDT, 6 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Spokane WA
655 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

IDZ002-003-WAZ033-036-290230-
Coeur d'Alene Area ID-Idaho Palouse ID-Spokane Area WA-
Washington Palouse WA-
655 PM PDT Thu May 28 2026

...Strong thunderstorms will impact portions of northwestern Latah,
west central Benewah, southwestern Kootenai, northeastern Whitman and
southeastern Spokane Counties through 730 PM PDT...

At 655 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a cluster of strong
thunderstorms 12 miles west of Plummer, or 22 miles southeast of
Cheney, moving northwest at 20 mph.

HAZARD...Winds in excess of 40 mph and penny size hail.

SOURCE...Radar indicated.

IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
         unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to outdoor objects is
         possible.

Locations impacted include...
Tekoa, Fairfield, Rockford, Spangle, Latah, Farmington, Tensed,
Waverly, and Valleyford.

This includes the following highways...
 U.S. Highway 95 in Idaho between mile markers 382 and 390.
 U.S. Highway 195 in Washington between mile markers 79 and 84.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch remains in effect until midnight PDT for
the Panhandle of Idaho...and eastern and northeastern Washington.

&&

LAT...LON 4720 11689 4703 11699 4748 11745 4759 11708
TIME...MOT...LOC 0155Z 157DEG 15KT 4733 11715

MAX HAIL SIZE...0.75 IN
MAX WIND GUST...40 MPH

Butler

The office that day

Everything else NWS Spokane, WA issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 28, 5:11 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXLatah, Shoshone49 min
May 28, 5:12 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXLewis48 min
May 28, 5:19 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXKootenai41 min
May 28, 5:21 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXLewis39 min
May 28, 5:40 PM PDTAreal Flood AdvisoryOTXBenewah, Latah, Shoshone3 hr
May 28, 5:40 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXBenewah50 min
May 28, 5:43 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXBenewah47 min
May 28, 5:49 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXLewis41 min
May 28, 6:04 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXLatah41 min
May 28, 6:05 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningOTXShoshone2 hr
May 28, 6:07 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXKootenai38 min
May 28, 6:11 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXLatah64 min
May 28, 6:18 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXBenewah42 min
May 28, 6:24 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXLatah36 min
May 28, 6:29 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXBenewah, Latah31 min
May 28, 6:33 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXShoshone27 min
May 28, 6:44 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXBenewah, Latah, Shoshone46 min
May 28, 6:52 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXShoshone38 min
May 28, 7:00 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXShoshone45 min
May 28, 7:14 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXShoshone47 min
May 28, 7:20 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXKootenai55 min
May 28, 7:29 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXBenewah, Kootenai, Shoshone32 min
May 28, 7:41 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXBonner, Shoshone32 min
May 28, 8:14 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXKootenai31 min
May 28, 8:22 PM PDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningOTXBonner26 min
May 28, 8:54 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXBonner36 min
May 28, 8:54 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXBonner51 min
May 28, 8:58 PM PDTFlash Flood WarningOTXBonner110 min
May 28, 9:04 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXBoundary56 min
May 28, 9:31 PM PDTSpecial Weather StatementOTXBoundary59 min

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in Idaho, 2026Every flash flood warning in 2026

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; local storm reports from the same archive; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.