High Wind in Washington, February 21 to 22, 2002

Name: High Wind in Washington, February 21 to 22, 2002
Start: 2002-02-21T20:00
End: 2002-02-22T20:00
Location: Washington

February 21 to 22, 2002 · NWS OTX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong westerly jet stream winds moving across southern British Columbia brought high winds to exposed ridge tops in the Cascade Mountains. The avalanche sensor atop Mission Peak (elevation 6740 ft) southwest of Wenatchee measured nearly 24 hours of sustained winds in excess of 50 mph and gusts in excess of 75 mph from the southwest.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

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 Feb 21, 2:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 21, 2:30 PM PST, 5 hours 30 minutes before

EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
230 PM PST THU FEB 21 2002

A WET AND WINDY PATTERN CONTINUES THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...FOLLOWED BY
COLDER AND DRY CONDITIONS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.

IN THE SHORT TERM...WARM FRONT STILL HUNG UP ACROSS THE BASIN YET WAA
HAS SEEPED NORTH OF THE FRONT TO ALLOW THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION
TO CHANGE TO RAIN EVEN IN THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CASCADES. SNOW
LEVELS HAVE JUMPED TO 5-6K FT WITH A LARGE RAIN SHADOW STRETCHING
FROM THE LEE OF THE CASCADES TO THE WA/ID BORDER. EXPECT FURTHER
WARMING WITH SNOW LEVELS RISING ABOVE 6K FT TONIGHT FOR THE
PANHANDLE...WHILE STRONG WESTERLY WINDS ENHANCE OROGRAPHIC RAIN. ONCE
THE LOWER LEVELS MIX OUT WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE FRONT...WILL SEE SW
WINDS TURN WINDY WITH 20-30 MPH AND GUSTS TO 40 MPH. WILL SEE HIGHER
WINDS IN THE PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS WITH 40-60 MPH AND GUSTS 75 MPH AND
HIGHER. COULD SEE MARGINAL WIND ADVISORY WINDS FOR THE CAMAS PRAIRIE
WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH AS WELL. THIS MESHES WELL WITH THE VAD WIND
PROFILE...LATEST REPORTS FOR AREA SKI RESORTS AND THE LATEST MESO ETA
RUN WITH THE GRADIENT REMAINING TIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. WILL
ALSO CONTINUE TO SEE SLOP OVER FROM THE CASCADE CREST TONIGHT...AGAIN
MAINLY IN THE FORM OF RAIN.

THE COLD FRONT HAS SLOWED DOWN AND WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT FROM NW TO SE
THROUGH THE AREA STARTING IN EARLY FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EXITING BY
EARLY EVENING IN THE LWS AREA. WILL SEE SHOWERS PICK UP AHEAD AND
WITH THE FRONT...BUT QUICKLY CLEAR IN THE WAKE OF IT. THE EXCEPTION
BEING THE PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS WHERE THE WESTERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE
OROGRAPHIC SHOWERS. STRONG CAA WILL FILTER BEHIND THE FRONT...
CAUSING SNOW LEVELS TO PLUMMET LATE FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY
MORNING. YET IT APPEARS ONCE THE COLD AIR ARRIVES...THE MOISTURE
DISSIPATES AND SHOWERS WANE ESPECIALLY IN THE PANHANDLE MTNS. WILL
HOLD ON TO ISOLATED MTNS SHOWERS INTO SATURDAY MORNING...BUT COLD AND
CLEAR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL IN MOST AREAS AS HIGH PRESSURE SETTLES
IN.  RFOX.

.EXTENDED...STILL VERY POOR CONTINUITY BETWEEN PROGS FROM DAY TO DAY
AND FROM ONE PROG TO ANOTHER. YESTERDAYS MRF HAD A TROUGH MOVING
ACROSS THE STATE ON WEDNESDAY AND TODAY THIS TROUGH ARRIVES ON
TUESDAY.  THE ECMF HAS A RIDGE ON TUESDAY AND BRINGS THE TROUGH
THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. IN VIEW OF THESE DISCREPANCIES WILL
LEAVE THE FORECAST AS IS WITH A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION ON WEDNESDAY.
ALSO THE PROGS HAVE BEEN NOTORIOUS LATELY IN MOVING SYSTEMS TOO FAST
IN THE LONG RANGE THEN SLOWING THEM UP WHEN IT GETS CLOSER TO THE
ACTUAL TIME OF THE EVENT. WILL GO BACK TO NICE DAY THURSDAY WITH THE
THOUGHT THE WEDNESDAY SYSTEM WILL BE EAST OF THE CWA BY THIS TIME. LH

...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 040/049/028/037/020/032 475100
COE 038/048/027/035/020/032 575200
PUW 042/051/030/038/022/033 567100
LWS 047/061/037/047/031/040 257200
CQV 039/049/025/037/019/032 586310
SPT 038/048/026/035/020/030 998430
WWP 037/047/029/034/022/028 +98541
EAT 038/050/031/045/024/037 130000
MWH 042/053/033/046/022/038 142000

.OTX...HIGH WIND WARNING LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING
FOR THE MOUNTAINS OF IDZ01 AND IDZ04...
    ...WIND ADVISORY LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING FOR
THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE CAMAS PRAIRIE...

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, East Slopes Northern Cascades

When: February 21, 8:00 PM PST to February 22, 8:00 PM PST
Where: East Slopes Northern Cascades forecast zone
Measured: 82 kt (94 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

Every storm in Washington in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, February 2002

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: 5283565.