Damaging Winds in Idaho, May 24, 2003

Name: Damaging Winds in Idaho, May 24, 2003
Start: 2003-05-24T18:29
End: 2003-05-24T19:39
Location: Idaho

May 24, 2003 · NWS MSO · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Line of thunderstorms caused wind damage in Idaho County, from Riggins to Grangeville, Cottonwood and Kooskia. In Riggins, 60 mph winds downed power lines and a roof was blown off.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 MSO wrote it up.

Line of thunderstorms caused wind damage in Idaho County, from Riggins to Grangeville, Cottonwood and Kooskia. In Riggins, 60 mph winds downed power lines and a roof was blown off. 60 mph winds downed trees in Grangeville and Cottonwood, temporarily closing US HWY 95. A transformer fire was started in Grangeville from downed power lines. 10 miles east of Grangeville, a barn roof was blown off, and trees were snapped in half. In Kooskia, 60 mph winds damaged a carport. In Clearwater County, 60 mph winds blew off a roof of a home, and downed trees and 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 Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 24, 6:09 PM PST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 24, 6:09 PM PST, 20 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION...
CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
809 PM MDT SAT MAY 24 2003

.SHORT TERM...NO UPDATES. A HOT DAY HAS SET THE STAGE FOR A RATHER
COMFORTABLE EVEVING ACROSS MY CWA. WE REACHED 89 IN MISSOULA...1
DEGREE SHY OF THE RECORD AND MOST OTHER PLACES CAME UP A LITTLE SHORT
OF RECORD HIGHS AS WELL. SO FAR WE HAVE MANAGED TO DODGE THE SEVERE
WEATHER BULLET. WE HAVE HAD A FEW TSTORMS POP UP THIS EVENING...
PRIMARILY OVER IDAHO COUNTY AND OUT NEAR BUTTE. BUT THE FOCUS FOR THE
DEEPEST CONVECTION AND SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN ALONG THE COLD FRONT
WHICH IS OVER EASTERN WA/OR RIGHT NOW. THE MESOETA IS DOING THE BEST
JOB WITH PLACEMENT AND TIMING OF THE CONVECTION THIS EVENING. IT
SHOWS THE DEEPEST CONVECTION TO STAY TO OUR WEST...BUT DOES HAVE A
BULLSEYE OVER FAR NW MT LATER. SHOULD SEE SCATTERED CONVECTION
MOST AREAS TONIGHT AND CANT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SEVERE CELL OVER THE
NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS OUT IN IDAHO OR EXTREME NW MT. BUT AFTER
COORDINATION WITH SPOKANE AND WITH SPC HAVE DECIDED IT WILL BE
NEITHER WIDESPREAD ENOUGH NOR OF LONG ENOUGH DURATION TO WARRANT
EXTENDING THE WATCH FURTHER EAST. UPPER LEVEL TROF THAT IS DRIVING
ALL THE CONVECTION WILL BE DEALING US A GLANCING BLOW TONIGHT WHICH
MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR THE COLD FRONT TO HANG UP SOMEWHERE
OVER US. INDEED THE MESOETA SHIFTS THE FRONT SLOWLY EASTWARD TONIGHT
AND IT IS POSITIONED ACROSS SW MT BY 00Z TOMORROW. THERE ARE EVEN
STRONGER WAVES COMING UP THROUGH THE FLOW SO THE COMBINATION OF UPPER
DYNAMICS AND LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE COULD LEAD TO SEVERE WEATHER FOR
MY CWA TOMORROW. CURRENT FORECAST HAS TONIGHT WELL COVERED SO NO
UPDATES. WRIGHT

.LONG TERM (MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY)...HIGH PRESSURE QUICKLY REBOUNDS
MONDAY AND TUESDAY LEADING TO ANOTHER VERY WARM AND DRY PERIOD.  WITH
RELATIVELY LITTLE COOLING DURING THE SHORT TERM AND MORE HEAT TUESDAY
AND WEDNESDAY...SNOW MELT WILL CONTINUE TO BE AN ISSUE WITH HIGH
RIVER FLOWS CONTINUING...ESPECIALLY THE BITTERROOT RIVER.  WE HAVE
INTRODUCED A LOW THREAT OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER NORTHCENTRAL
IDAHO WEDNESDAY AS THE THERMAL TROUGH SHIFTS OVER THE REGION AND
THE AIR MASS BECOMES VERY UNSTABLE.  AFTER MID WEEK...THE UPPER
RIDGE MAY FLATTEN SOME LEADING TO A SLIGHTLY COOLER...BUT GENERALLY
DRY WESTERLY FLOW.  BAUCK

.MSO...FLOOD WATCH FOR THE BITTERROOT RIVER SUNDAY EVENING INTO
       MONDAY...

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB EBB 054/078 048/077 046/081 39462000
     BBBB 044/085 048/078 048/076 048/076 2901100111
FCA BBB 052/077 047/076 047/080 39342100
     BBBB 045/084 047/074 047/072 047/072 2901100111
POL BBB 053/078 048/077 047/080 39342100
     BBBB 046/084 051/077 051/075 051/075 2901100111
MSO EBB 054/080 049/079 049/083 39442100
     BBBB 048/087 048/077 048/075 048/075 2901100111
HMM BBU 056/082 049/081 048/085 39443200
     BBBB 049/089 048/080 048/078 048/078 2901100111
BTM BEB 047/081 047/078 045/082 39245300
     BBBB 048/086 047/077 047/075 047/075 2900000111
ORO EBB 057/081 052/080 050/087 39452000
     BBBB 049/091 054/080 054/078 054/078 2901100000
GRV EBB 051/075 049/074 052/081 39442111
     BBBB 052/085 052/077 052/075 052/075 2911111000
SMN BBU 050/081 048/082 047/086 39354300
     BBBB 048/090 047/082 047/080 047/080 2900000111

Hazardous weather outlook, May 24, 9:45 AM PST, 8 hours 44 minutes before

MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-251200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1145 AM MDT SAT MAY 24 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH
CENTRAL IDAHO

.DAY ONE... TODAY

ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH POTENTIAL FOR HIGH WINDS MAY
DEVELOP THIS EVENING OVER NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO AND NORTHWEST
MONTANA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

RIVERS ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO WILL BE RISING
QUICKLY AND FLOWING AT HIGH LEVELS THIS MEMORIAL WEEKEND. A FLOOD
WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE BITTERROOT RIVER FOR SUNDAY NIGHT INTO
MONDAY...FOR FURTHER DETAILS CHECK GTFFFAMSO. FOR INFORMATION ON THE
OTHER RIVERS ACROSS WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO CHECK THE
LATEST RIVER STATEMENT FOR RIVER LEVELS...OR GTFRVSMSO.

The radar

The Pendleton radar (KPDT), 200 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:28 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Idaho

When: May 24, 6:29 PM PST to 7:00 PM PST
Where: Idaho County, Riggins
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 45.417, -116.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Clearwater

When: May 24, 7:38 PM PST to 7:39 PM PST
Where: Clearwater County, Pierce
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 46.483, -115.783

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Idaho in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Idaho, May 2003

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: 5353904, 5353905.