Name: High Wind in Washington, March 26 to 27, 2002
Start: 2002-03-26T20:00
End: 2002-03-27T01:00
Location: Washington

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
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.

Jet stream winds over the Northwest pushed a cold front across the Cascades late on the evening of March 26, bringing high winds. The avalanche sensor atop Mission Ridge (elevation 6740 feet) measured sustained winds in excess of 50 mph through this entire time period, and the peak gust was 91 mph. The strong wind mixed into some valley locations with some power lines in Brisky Canyon (west of Cashmere) getting blown down. This caused a power outage to 239 utility customers starting at 1156 PM.

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 26, 2:15 PM PST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 26, 2:15 PM PST, 5 hours 45 minutes before

EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTH IDAHO AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON
215 PM PST TUE MAR 26 2002

SHORTWAVE MOVING IN FROM THE NORTHWEST MAY BRING ABOUT SOME SHOWER
ACTIVITY TONIGHT TO MOUNTAIN AREAS. THE REMAINING FORECAST AREAS
SHOULD REMAIN ON THE SOMEWHAT DRY SIDE WITH THE OCCASIONAL MENTION OF
SLIGHT CHANCE POPS FROM TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. FRIDAY STILL LOOKS
DRY FORECAST AREA WIDE. RELIED MOSTLY ON LATEST ETA IN PAINTING THE
CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION NEAR EAST SLOPE CREST AND NORTHEAST AND
PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THURSDAY. TEMPERATURES ON THE SLIGHT COOL
SIDE BUT NOTHING TOO EXTREME. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS AND
SLACKENS THROUGHOUT FORECAST PERIOD WITH THE MOST FAVORABLE PRESSURE
PATTERNS FOR WIND OCCURRING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN THURSDAY
NIGHT AND FRIDAY. ADEQUATE MOISTURE THROUGH MOSTLY THE 800MB LATER
AND ABOVE SHOULD ALLOW FOR SOME OF BROKEN TO POSSIBLY OVERCAST CLOUD
COVER THROUGH THURSDAY.

.EXTENDED...THE DOMINANT FEATURE THROUGH THIS PERIOD WILL BE A
LONGWAVE RIDGE INITIALLY CENTERED NEAR 130W. ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
...THE AMPLITUDE OF THE RIDGE WILL BE FAIRLY FLAT WITH THE JET POISED
JUST NORTH OF THE CANADIAN BORDER. A COUPLE OF SHORTWAVE TROFS ARE
EXPECTED TO ALONG THE JET ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY...POSSIBLY BRINGING
SOME SPRINKLES TO THE FAR NORTHERN LOCALES AND INCREASED CLOUD
COVER...ALTHOUGH THIS IS FAR FROM CERTAIN. BY MONDAY AND
TUESDAY...THE EXTENDED MODELS CONTINUE TO SUGGEST THE RIDGE WILL
AMPLIFY AND MOVE INLAND. BY THIS POINT...THE STORM TRACK WILL LIE
WELL TO THE NORTH WITH A WELL DEFINED LOW-LEVEL THERMAL RIDGE RUNNING
RIGHT THROUGH THE INLAND NW. THIS PATTERN COULD LEAD TO SOME OF THE
WARMEST TEMPS WE HAVE SEEN SINCE MID-OCTOBER...HOWEVER THE ENSEMBLE
MEAN CHARTS SHOW A LITTLE LESS CERTAINTY. WE WILL PLAY IT SAFE FOR
NOW AND KEEP TEMPS A LITTLE CLOSER TO SEASONAL NORMS.

...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 031/048/033/053/032/055 1-12--
COE 030/047/032/052/031/054 2122--
PUW 033/049/035/054/032/056 1012--
LWS 039/056/040/059/040/061 1011--
CQV 033/055/035/059/034/063 222211
SPT 030/046/032/051/030/053 323211
WWP 029/043/030/048/028/051 323211
EAT 035/055/036/060/035/060 000000
MWH 033/052/034/058/034/060 000000

.OTX...NONE.

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, W Okanogan/C&w Chelan

When: March 26, 8:00 PM PST to March 27, 1:00 AM PST
Where: W Okanogan/C&w Chelan forecast zone
Measured: 79 kt (91 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
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

More

Every storm in Washington in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Washington, March 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: 5287356.