Idaho, 1998

Flash Flooding and Wildfire in Idaho, July 2 to 31, 1998

July 2 to 31, 1998 · NWS OTX · 17 events in 6 counties and zones

11 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 wildfire, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
1
Property damage
$425,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
17

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

The radar

The Spokane radar (KOTX), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:50 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Benewah

When
July 2, 5:10 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where
Benewah County, St Maries
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
47.218, -116.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

a 2 acre wildfire threatened St. Maries High School.

Hail, Benewah

When
July 2, 9:53 PM PST
Where
Benewah County, 2 mi S of Santa
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
47.120, -116.450

three quarter inch diameter hail

Thunderstorm Wind, Nez Perce

When
July 9, 6:14 PM PST
Where
Nez Perce County, Lapwai
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.400, -116.800

power lines down and trees blown down. one tree blown down onto trailer house. 1 male injured.

Thunderstorm Wind, Nez Perce

When
July 9, 6:32 PM PST
Where
Nez Perce County, Kendrick
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.620, -116.630

strong wind bending large tree branches and trees blown down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Latah

When
July 9, 6:40 PM PST
Where
Latah County, Juliaetta
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.580, -116.700

trees and power lines blown down. small fire started from downed power line.

Thunderstorm Wind, Latah

When
July 9, 6:57 PM PST
Where
Latah County, Moscow
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.730, -117.000

8 inch diameter trees snapped. many power lines down.

Hail, Benewah

When
July 9, 7:31 PM PST
Where
Benewah County, Emida
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.120, -116.600

1 inch diameter hail.

Thunderstorm Wind, Benewah

When
July 9, 7:45 PM PST to 7:50 PM PST
Where
Benewah County, St Maries
Property damage
$50,000
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
47.320, -116.580

numerous trees down along St. Joe River. tree down on pickup truck. high winds forced car off the road into a sewer pond.

Thunderstorm Wind, Latah

When
July 9, 7:55 PM PST to 7:58 PM PST
Where
Latah County, Potlatch
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.920, -116.880

many power lines and trees down. possible funnel cloud.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kootenai

When
July 9, 8:20 PM PST to 8:45 PM PST
Where
Kootenai County, Cataldo
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.550, -116.330

60 mph wind gust at 4th of July Pass. Highway 3 closed from Cataldo to Medimont due to downed trees.

Thunderstorm Wind, Kootenai

When
July 9, 8:50 PM PST
Where
Kootenai County, Spirit Lake
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.970, -116.870

small fire started from trees blowing onto power lines.

Thunderstorm Wind, Boundary

When
July 10, 2:30 PM PST to 2:35 PM PST
Where
Boundary County, Copeland
Measured
52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.900, -116.380

60 mph wind gust with small trees down.

Thunderstorm Wind, Nez Perce

When
July 10, 6:50 PM PST
Where
Nez Perce County, (Lws)nez Perce Muni
Measured
55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage
$40,000
Reported by
ARPT EQUIP(AWOS,ASOS)
Coordinates
46.220, -116.700

63 mph wind gust at the airport while 15 - 12 inch diameter trees blown down crushing a car. a roof of a shed was torn off.

Flash Flood, Nez Perce

When
July 10, 7:00 PM PST to 8:00 PM PST
Where
Nez Perce County, Lewiston
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates
46.327, -116.750 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

an inch of rain in 30 minutes caused several streets to flood in downtown Lewiston. a couple of basements were flooded as up to a foot of water flowed in the streets.

Thunderstorm Wind, Nez Perce

When
July 10, 8:00 PM PST to 8:03 PM PST
Where
Nez Perce County, Lewiston Orchards
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.370, -116.950

power lines blown down.

Flash Flood, Shoshone

When
July 30, 12:30 PM PST to 1:35 PM PST
Where
Shoshone County, Kellogg
Property damage
$100,000
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
47.352, -115.891 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

over 2 inches in less than an hour lead to locally flooding in the city of Kellogg with I90 temporarily shut down between Kellogg and Cataldo. Main Street was flooding including many businesses, the library, the police department and the fire station.

Flash Flood, Kootenai

When
July 31, 4:45 PM PST to 5:15 PM PST
Where
Kootenai County, Coeur D Alene
Property damage
$5,000
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
47.675, -116.700 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

heavy rains and local flooding in downtown Coeur d'Alene.

What these are

Wildfire
A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Idaho in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, July 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5659958, 5659841, 5659847, 5659842, 5659848, 5659843, 5659844, 5659850, 5659845, 5659846, 5659849, 5659852, 5659853, 5659855, 5659854, 5659956, 5659957.