Washington, 2001

High Wind in Washington, March 13, 2001

March 13, 2001 · NWS OTX · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

High winds caused about a dozen power outages in the Pullman area when trees were either blown into power lines or power lines were blown over. The ASOS at the Pullman-Moscow Airport measured a peak wind gust of 51 mph (44 knots) around 300 PM PST.

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.

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

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$14,000
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 OTX wrote it up.

High winds caused about a dozen power outages in the Pullman area when trees were either blown into power lines or power lines were blown over. The ASOS at the Pullman-Moscow Airport measured a peak wind gust of 51 mph (44 knots) around 300 PM PST. Many electric customers in the Colville area were without power when winds blew trees into power lines.

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 Spokane, WA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 13, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours before
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
900 AM PST TUE MAR 13 2001

UPPER LEVEL FRONT IN ASSOCIATION WITH STRONG EAST PACIFIC SYSTEM
CROSSING INTO EASTERN WASHINGTON AT THIS TIME. CURRENT SOUTH/NORTH
SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT RUNNING 6-7 MB AT THIS TIME AND WILL
TIGHTEN UP BY THIS AFTERNOON ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG DOWNWARD MIXING
OFF THE CASCADES. WIND ADVISORY LOOKS ON TRACK FOR THE UPPER COLUMBIA
BASIN AND FOR WATERVILLE/WENATCHEE REGION AS WINDS PICK UP MIDDAY. A
STRIKING CLEARING EDGE WAS NOTED ACROSS THE BASIN. ALREADY
RATTLESNAKE MOUNTAIN SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA HAS RECORDED WINDS UP
TO 58 KNOTS.

AS SURFACE SYSTEM TRACKS ACROSS SOUTHERN BC THROUGH THIS
EVENING...CONCERN IS THAT POPS MAY BE TOO HIGH ACROSS THE PALOUSE AND
LEWISTON AREAS. UPSLOPE LOCATIONS WILL BE FAVORED FOR MEASURABLE QPF
AND WILL CONTINUE CURRENT FORECAST ACCUMULATIONS FOR THE NORTHEAST
AND PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS. INSTABILITY ALOFT IS STILL NOTED WITH VERY
COLD 500 MB TEMPERATURES EXPECTED TO WORK IN THIS EVENING AS THE
TROUGH APPROACHES...THUS SLIGHT CHANCE THUNDER WORDING WILL CONTINUE
FOR THE MOUNTAINS.

SKIES HAVE PARTIALLY CLEARED ACROSS THE CHELAN HIGHLANDS WITH
CLEARING MOVING INTO THE NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS. WILL LIKELY TOUCH UP
ZONES ON CLOUD COVER AS WELL AS REDUCE POPS IN THE AFOREMENTIONED
AREAS. JR

...THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRODUCT CONCERNING WARNINGS AND FORECASTS
IS VALID ONLY AT THE TIME OF ISSUANCE. THE LATEST WARNING AND
FORECAST INFORMATION WILL BE FOUND IN THE APPROPRIATE PRODUCTS...

GEG 049/030/045 332
CQV 053/031/047 743
SPT 048/030/043 653
COE 050/031/045 442
WWP 048/029/041 483
LWS 057/036/051 242
PUW 051/031/045 253
EAT 058/034/055 100
MWH 060/033/055 100

.GEG...WIND ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR
         WATERVILLE PLATEAU
         WENATCHEE AREA
         MOSES LAKE AREA
         UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Washington Palouse

When
March 13, 2:00 PM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where
Washington Palouse forecast zone
Property damage
$4,000
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
47.261, -117.463 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

High Wind, Stevens/Pend Oreille/X N Spokane

When
March 13, 2:00 PM PST to 4:00 PM PST
Where
Stevens/Pend Oreille/X N Spokane forecast zone
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
48.184, -117.511 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, March 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: 5236251, 5236252.