High winds affected the ridge tops and upper slopes of the central and northern Idaho panhandle. A wind gust to 99 mph took place at the Silver Mountain Ski area south of Kellogg in Shoshone County at 330 PM on the 21st.
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.
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 episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
High winds affected the ridge tops and upper slopes of the central and northern Idaho panhandle. A wind gust to 99 mph took place at the Silver Mountain Ski area south of Kellogg in Shoshone County at 330 PM on the 21st. A wind gust to 80 mph was estimated at the Schweitzer Mountain Ski Area northwest of Sandpoint at 500 AM on the 22nd.
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 Feb 21, 9:00 AM PST, 5 hours earlier.
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
900 AM PST THU FEB 21 2002
WARM FRONT SLOWLY LIFTING ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY WITH A SNOW
AND RAIN/SNOW MIX TURNING TO RAIN THROUGH THE DAY. SO FAR...SPOTTER
REPORTS SHOW 3-7 INCHES OF SNOW HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED IN THE EAST
SLOPES OF THE CASCADES AND 1-3 INCHES IN THE NORTHERN VALLEYS OF THE
OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS TO THE NRN PANHANDLE. UP TO AN INCH OF WET SNOW
HAS BEEN REPORTED IN EAT. WILL EXPECT THE PRECIPITATION TO SHUT OFF
IN THE BASIN THIS AFTERNOON...BUT DUE TO THE INCREASED WESTERLY FLOW
IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT MAY HAVE RAIN SPILLING OVER THE CASCADES AS
FAR AS EAT AND THE OKANOGAN VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON. EXPECT
PRECIPITATION TO CONTINUE ACROSS EXTREME ERN WA AND N IDAHO THROUGH
THE DAY. OTX SOUNDING SHOWED A 850 TEMP OF +2 WHICH IS MORE IN LINE
WITH THE AVN THAN THE ETA.
WILL RAISE ADVISORIES FOR THE NE WA AND NRN PANHANDLE MTNS THROUGH
MIDDAY...WHILE TAKE DOWN ADVISORIES FOR EAT/OMK AND THE WATERVILLE
PLATEAU. UPDATES TO THE ZONES/STATE ARE FORTH COMING. RFOX.
...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 049/040/049/025/037 +64-0
COE 048/039/048/023/035 +74-0
PUW 051/042/049/026/036 84510
LWS 057/047/056/036/044 41650
CQV 047/040/049/020/037 +8300
SPT 046/039/046/020/035 +9600
WWP 046/039/046/021/035 ++930
EAT 051/039/051/026/039 +2100
MWH 054/042/053/027/039 71200
.OTX...
...WINTER WX ADVISORY THROUGH MIDDAY WAZ042 WAZ038 WA037 IDZ01.
...HIGH WIND WATCH MOUNTAINS OF IDZ004 LATE TODAY AND TONIGHT
...FLOOD POTENTIAL OUTLOOK FOR ERN WA/N ID...The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, February 2002
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: 5283552, 5283553.