Flash Flooding and Winter Storm in Washington, February 2 to 28, 1999

Name: Flash Flooding and Winter Storm in Washington, February 2 to 28, 1999
Start: 1999-02-02T05:00
End: 1999-02-28T23:00
Location: Washington

February 2 to 28, 1999 · NWS OTX · 15 events in 12 counties and zones

6 high wind, 5 heavy snow, 3 flash flood, 1 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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

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The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $4.8 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 15

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

6 high wind, 5 heavy snow, 3 flash flood, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, S Garfield/Sw Asotin

When: February 2, 5:00 AM PST to 10:00 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)

Heavy snow of 6-15" each day was reported across portions of eastern Washington, especially the mountainous areas. Some sites included: Chewelah, Newport, Republic, Mazma and Lake Wenatchee.

High Wind, N Garfield & Ne Asotin

When: February 2, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: N Garfield & Ne Asotin forecast zone
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 46.312, -117.374 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong winds of 30-40 mph with gusts of 60-75 mph roared across portions of eastern Washington. This caused widespread damage to downed trees and power lines along with roof and structure damage from Pullman and Spokane to Ephrata and Ritzville.

High Wind, Whitman & Extreme Se Spokane

When: February 2, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Whitman & Extreme Se Spokane forecast zone
Property damage: $750,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.261, -117.463 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, S Grant & Sw Adams

When: February 2, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: S Grant & Sw Adams forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 47.095, -119.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ne Grant/X Ne Douglas/X Se Oknogan/Lincoln X Ne/Adams X Sw

When: February 2, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Ne Grant/X Ne Douglas/X Se Oknogan/Lincoln X Ne/Adams X Sw forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 47.610, -119.173 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Ne Lincoln/Spokane X Extreme N Part

When: February 2, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Ne Lincoln/Spokane X Extreme N Part forecast zone
Property damage: $2.0 million
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.599, -117.911 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Stevens/Pend Oreille/X N Spokane

When: February 2, 11:00 AM PST to 5:00 PM PST
Where: Stevens/Pend Oreille/X N Spokane forecast zone
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 48.184, -117.511 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Whitman & Extreme Se Spokane

When: February 3, 5:00 AM PST
Where: Whitman & Extreme Se Spokane forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 47.261, -117.463 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Stevens/Pend Oreille/X N Spokane

When: February 4, 5:00 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: February 5, 10:00 AM 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)

Winter Storm, W Okanogan/C&w Chelan

When: February 10, 8:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST
Where: W Okanogan/C&w Chelan forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER

Heavy snow, gusty winds and bitter cold temperatures lead to hazardous conditions int he back country of the East Cascades where 2 snowmobilers were lost for 11 days. The couple was found, 1 dead and 1 injuried.

Flash Flood, Whitman

When: February 24, 1:00 AM PST to February 25, 9:00 AM PST
Where: Whitman County, Pullman
Property damage: $250,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.901, -117.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rapid snowmelt and heavy rain lead to rising creeks and streams across Whitman County, which lead to high water levels on the North Fork of the Palouse River. Several homes and business had reports of flooding.

Flash Flood, Lincoln

When: February 24, 8:00 AM PST to February 25, 8:00 AM PST
Where: Lincoln County, Wilbur
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates: 47.576, -118.419 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowmelt and heavy rain caused high water levels on many small stream across northern Lincoln County, including Goose Creek. Portions of Highwy 2 were closed and several business were flooded in downtown Creston.

Flash Flood, Spokane

When: February 25, 3:00 PM PST to February 27, 2:00 AM PST
Where: Spokane County, Dartford
Property damage: $500,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.621, -117.404 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy rain in addition to snowmelt produced high water levels on the Little Spokane River, where flooding was pronounced near Dartford at the Pine River Park and several roads were under water. Other small streams were running at bankfull, including Rock Creek at Rockford, Hangman Creek and Money Creek near Deer Park.

Heavy Snow, W Okanogan/C&w Chelan

When: February 28, 10:00 AM PST to 11:00 PM PST
Where: W Okanogan/C&w Chelan forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Storm, W Okanogan/C&w Chelan	1999-02-12	44	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
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

Every storm in Washington in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, February 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: 5683877, 5684013, 5684014, 5684015, 5684016, 5684017, 5684018, 5683878, 5683879, 5684010, 5684012, 5684019, 5684020, 5682171, 5684011.