Washington, 2001

Lightning Strikes in Washington, August 11, 2001

August 11, 2001 · NWS PDT · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Lightning from dry thunderstorms, along with winds which gusted from 20 to 20 mph, started several grass fires within Walla Walla and Columbia Counties. Within Walla Walla, 2 grass fires were started by downed power lines on Southwest Fourth Street and near College Place.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
$25,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS PDT wrote it up.

Lightning from dry thunderstorms, along with winds which gusted from 20 to 20 mph, started several grass fires within Walla Walla and Columbia Counties. Within Walla Walla, 2 grass fires were started by downed power lines on Southwest Fourth Street and near College Place. Power was also lost to around 700 customers for 2 hours within these neighborhoods. Lightning started other grass fires near Waitsburg, Dayton, and Starbuck.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Pendleton, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 11, 7:30 PM PST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 11, 7:30 PM PST, 2 hours before
NORTHEAST OREGON/SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PENDLETON OR
830 PM PDT SAT AUG 11 2001

VERY ISOLATED CONVECTION...MAINLY OVER WALLOWA COUNTY THIS
EVENING...IS DISSIPATING.  KEEPING AN EYE ON THE DISTURBANCE MOVING
NORTHWARD ALONG CALIFORNIA.  SCATTERED MID TO HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS
CURRENTLY FORMING OVER SOUTHERN/CENTRAL OREGON IN MOISTURE FIELD
MOVING INTO THE AREA IN ADVANCE OF THE DISTURBANCE.  A SLIGHT CHANCE
OF NOCTURNAL STORMS LATE TONIGHT WITH A WEAK IMPULSE IN MOISTURE
FIELD.  MAIN DISTURBANCE PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH ON SUNDAY.  WITH
ADVECTED MOISTURE IN PLACE AND AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE DEVELOPING
OVER THE AREA...LI/S 0 TO -1 AND THETA-E RIDGE FORMING OVER
REGION...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE PDT
FORECAST AREA.  BY MONDAY...A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE
CONFINED TO CENTRAL OREGON ZONES AND OVER THE EASTERN MOUNTAINS.
HOT CONDITIONS EXPECTED BOTH DAYS WITH THERMAL TROUGH SLOWLY
SHIFTING ACROSS THE AREA.  ALL HANDLED WELL IN CURRENT FORECAST...NO
ZONES UPDATES ANTICIPATED.  MJB.

PDT 1220  ALW 1220  PSC 0220  YKM 0200

.KPDT...WSR-88D...VCP21/CSR21...OPERATIONAL.

.KPDT...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR DRY LIGHTNING IN OREGON ZONES
42-50/61/62 AND WASHINGTON ZONES 29-31 VALID LATE TONIGHT THROUGH
SUNDAY.

The radar

The Pendleton radar (KPDT), 67 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 05:31 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Walla Walla

When
August 11, 9:30 PM PST
Where
Walla Walla County, Walla Walla
Property damage
$25,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.230, -118.478 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Lightning, Columbia

When
August 11, 9:30 PM PST
Where
Columbia County, Dayton
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
46.298, -117.908 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Washington in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, August 2001

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: 5265695, 5265696.