1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 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 Jul 6, 7:55 PM PST, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier.
EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
855 PM PDT SAT JUL 6 2002
00Z RAOBS INDICATE STRONG HEIGHT AND TEMPS RISES HAVE OCCURRED OVER
WA AND NORTH IDAHO OVER THE PAST 12 HOURS IN THE MID LEVELS AS
OFFSHORE LOW CONTINUED TO DEEPEN. THE SW WINDS AT THIS LEVEL HAVE
ALSO STRENGTHENED CONSIDERABLY AS WELL MORE THAN DOUBLING FROM 15 KTS
TO 40 KTS. LOOKS LIKE THIS MID-LEVEL FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN
AND BACK THROUGH THE NIGHT AS THE OFFSHORE LOW BEGINS TO TAKE ON A
NEGATIVE TILT. LATEST WATER VAPOR PIX INDICATE THAT THIS TILTING IS
ALREADY BEGINNING WITH THE MAIN DARKENING AT THE BASE OF THE TROF SE
OF THE LOW CENTER. THIS DOES NOT SPELL A WHOLE LOT IN THE WAY OF
SENSIBLE WEATHER CHANGE TONIGHT...BUT IT WILL MAKE THINGS INTERESTING
FOR LATE TOMORROW AND TOMORROW NIGHT. FOR TONIGHT WE WILL LIKELY SEE
A SLOW INCREASE IN MID/UPPER LEVEL MOISTURE WITH THE ATTENDANT FLOW
SHIFTING TO THE S. THIS COMBINED WITH MUCH HIGHER DEWPOINTS THAN LAST
NIGHT SHOULD KEEP MIN TEMPS FAIRLY MILD. THIS ALREADY REFLECTED IN
THE CURRENT ZONES...HOWEVER WE WILL BOOST MOST LOCATIONS BY A COUPLE
OF DEGREES PER CURRENT READINGS.
FOR TOMORROW...WE WILL SEE THE LOW-LEVEL FLOW FOLLOW SUIT WITH THE
UPPER LEVEL WINDS AND EXHIBIT THEIR OWN BACKING AND STRENGTHENING.
THIS WILL AMPLIFY AND RETROGRADE THE THERMAL RIDGE INTO EAST WA AND
NORTH IDAHO BY TOMORROW AFTERNOON. THE PRESENCE OF THE THERMAL RIDGE
WILL BRING STRONG DESTABLIZATION TO AREA WITH PROGGED CAPE VALUES
EXCEEDING 2000 J/KG BY LATE TOMORROW AFTERNOON FROM GRANGEVILLE TO
COEUR DALENE. SUSPECT THESE VALUES MIGHT BE A TAD EXCESSIVE GIVEN A
FORECAST OF SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN EXCESS OF 60F...HOWEVER WE SHOULD
EASILY ATTAIN DEWPOINTS IN THE 50S. BUFR SOUNDINGS FROM THE ETA SHOW
THESE CAPES WILL HAVE TO OVERCOME SOME FAIRLY VIGOROUS CAPS OF 100
J/KG OR GREATER IN THESE AREAS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THIS SUGGESTS
ANY CONVECTION WE SEE WILL EITHER HAVE TO FIRE OVER THE MOUNTAINS OR
BE OF AN ELEVATED NATURE. THE LATEST ETA SUPPORTS THIS NOTION WITH
LIGHT PRECIP NOTED OVER THE MOST MOUNTAIN RANGES BY LATE AFTERNOON.
IF ANY CONVECTION DOES FIRE IT WILL GROW RAPIDLY...AT LEAST OVER THE
EASTERN SECTIONS OF THE CWA WITH EQUILIBRIUM LEVELS EXCEEDING 35K
FEET. THIS SCENARIO WOULD BE MUCH MORE FAVORABLE IF THE UPPER LEVEL
TROF WERE GOING TO SWEEP THROUGH DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS...HOWEVER
THE LATEST PROGS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE MAX LIFTING AROUND 06Z MON
IN THE CASCADES AND AROUND 12Z IN IDAHO. FOR NOW WE WILL RAISE POPS
FOR THE MOUNTAIN ZONES TO ACCOUNT FOR THE LATEST MODEL TRENDS.
FX
...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 059/092/063/078/048/085 0-5300
COE 059/091/062/077/047/084 0-5400
PUW 053/091/060/076/046/083 0-4300
LWS 064/097/066/083/052/091 014200
CQV 053/098/061/079/044/090 026300
SPT 053/090/059/073/045/085 024610
WWP 052/090/059/075/045/086 013610
EAT 064/092/065/081/052/088 012000
MWH 060/096/064/084/049/091 0-3000
.OTX...FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR DRY LIGHTNING FOR THE OKANOGAN...ZONES
684...685...687 FOR LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MIDNIGHT
SUNDAY...The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning struck the roof of an apartment building north of the intersection of Sprague and Argonne, igniting a fire that burned a 6-by-22 foot hole in the roof of the apartment. The residents of the apartment escaped without injury.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, July 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: 5315831.