Washington, 1999

Tornado and Heavy Snow in Washington, April 4 to 27, 1999

April 4 to 27, 1999 · NWS OTX · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

3 heavy snow, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud, 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
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

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 national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 heavy snow, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, S Garfield/Sw Asotin

When
April 4, 2:00 AM PST
Where
S Garfield/Sw Asotin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
46.312, -117.374 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

There were several reports of heavy snow in the mountains of extreme eastern Washington, specifically on the 4th and the 9th where 4-10 inches of snow were reported in a 12 hour period in each event. The locations of the heavy snow included near Chewelah and Republic along with a portion of the Blue Mountains.

Heavy Snow, Stevens/Pend Oreille/X N Spokane

When
April 4, 6:00 AM PST
Where
Stevens/Pend Oreille/X N Spokane forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.184, -117.511 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Ne Okanogan/Ferry

When
April 9, 12:00 PM PST
Where
Ne Okanogan/Ferry forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
48.510, -119.128 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Tornado, Spokane

When
April 27, 1:30 PM PST to 1:40 PM PST
Where
Spokane County, 5 mi W of Mead
Rating
F0
Path length
0.1 mi
Path width
0.1 yd
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
47.770, -117.450

A weak, cold core tornado touched down briefly in a farm field on the outskirts of Mead.

Funnel Cloud, Spokane

When
April 27, 5:35 PM PST to 5:40 PM PST
Where
Spokane County, 4 mi S of Freeman
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
47.621, -117.404 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A cold core funnel cloud was spotted over a farm field outside of Freeman.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Funnel Cloud
A rotating column of cloud extending from a thunderstorm that did not reach the ground.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Washington, 1999Warnings in Washington, April 1999

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: 5690506, 5690507, 5690508, 5690509, 5690510.