A spotter in eastern Spokane recorded a wind speed of 56 mph.
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The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
A spotter in eastern Spokane recorded a wind speed of 56 mph.
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 17, 9:07 AM PST, 4 hours 53 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WASHINGTON 907 AM PST WED MAR 17 2004 .SYNOPSIS...WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES MOVING ALONG THE FAST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL TRIGGER ISOLATED MOUNTAIN RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION THURSDAY CREATING WIDESPREAD WINDY CONDITIONS... MOUNTAIN SNOW AND ISOLATED LIGHT RAIN SHOWERS OVER THE LOWER ELEVATIONS. && .DISCUSSION...UPDATE TO THE FORECAST THIS MORNING IS TO DECREASE POPS IN THE MOUNTAIN ZONES. SHALLOW CONVECTIVE INSTABILITY FROM 3K TO 6K FEET WILL YIELD A SMALL POTENTIAL FOR SHOWERS. EXPECT LOWER ELEVATIONS TO SEE A FEW SPRINKLES...WHILE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 3000 FEET MAY SEE ISOLATED ACTIVITY. WILL ADJUST ZONE WORDING TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. IN ADDDITION...IT APPEARS TEMPERATURES IN THE PURCELL TRENCH FROM COEUR DALENE TO BONNERS FERRY WILL BE A LITTLE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED. TEMPERATURES WILL BE INCREASED A BIT IN THIS AREA. OTHERWISE ALL OTHER PARAMETERS APPEAR ON TRACK. /LERICOS && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SPOKANE 060 042 058 034 051/ 10 10 30 10 10 COEUR DALENE 058 041 058 035 049/ 10 10 30 10 10 PULLMAN 060 042 056 038 053/ 10 10 20 10 10 LEWISTON 065 047 066 043 059/ 10 10 10 10 10 COLVILLE 061 040 060 033 051/ 10 10 30 20 10 SANDPOINT 056 038 055 036 048/ 10 10 40 20 10 WALLACE 046 033 056 034 050/ 10 10 40 30 10 MOSES LAKE 068 042 066 035 060/ 05 10 10 10 10 WENATCHEE 065 043 060 033 053/ 10 10 20 10 10 OMAK 066 040 056 032 052/ 10 10 20 10 10 && .OTX... ID...NONE. WA...NONE.
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 547 AM PST WED MAR 17 2004 IDZ001-004-026-027-WAZ031-032-037-038-042-043-181430- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWISTON AREA- LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS- LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS- OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY- 547 AM PST WED MAR 17 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. IDZ002-003-WAZ033>036-041-044-181430- COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-WASHINGTON PALOUSE-MOSES LAKE AREA- UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA-WENATCHEE AREA-WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 547 AM PST WED MAR 17 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE AREAS LISTED ABOVE. .DAY ONE...TODAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE REGION DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY. WHILE PRECIPITATION WITH THIS FRONT WILL BE SPOTTY...THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WITH GUSTS OF OVER 40 MPH ACROSS THE COLUMBIA BASIN DURING THE DAY.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, March 2004
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: 5390135.