Strong downslope winds in the lee of the Cascades impacted the Wenatchee area and resulted in significant damage. The strongest winds were observed in the Wenatchee Heights area on the south side of Wenatchee, where gusts as high as 78 MPH were recorded with even an unofficial gust of 98 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
Strong downslope winds in the lee of the Cascades impacted the Wenatchee area and resulted in significant damage. The strongest winds were observed in the Wenatchee Heights area on the south side of Wenatchee, where gusts as high as 78 MPH were recorded with even an unofficial gust of 98 mph. These high winds blew off an entire roof. Elsewhere, two windows were blown out of a building in downtown Wenatchee. Numerous power outages resulted from the downslope windstorm. Additionally, a carport was blown down along with over 200 trees. Seven miles southwest of Quincy, an irrigation circle was blown across the Columbia River south of Crescent Bar. Total property damage from this event was estimated at nearly $65,000.
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 Jan 6, 4:00 PM PST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
400 PM PST TUE JAN 6 2009
.SYNOPSIS...
A PERSISTENT MOIST SUBTROPICAL AIRMASS WILL INCREASE THE THREAT
OF MODERATE VALLEY RAINS...RISING SNOW LEVELS...AND GUSTY WINDS
TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. URBAN AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING IS
POSSIBLE OVER PORTIONS OF REGION THROUGH EARLY FRIDAY. A DRIER
WEATHER PATTERN IS EXPECTED FOR FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND.
TEMPERATURES WILL BE COOLING BACK NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS
ENDING THE THREAT FOR FLOODING.
&&
.DISCUSSION...UPDATED AVIATION...
TONIGHT...THE INVASION OF WARM MOIST AIR INTO THE INLAND
NORTHWEST WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT. A SOUTHWEST FLOW OF
30-40KT IN THE LOW TO MID LEVELS WILL PROVIDE IMPRESSIVE
ISENTROPIC LIFT AND ADVECT THE MOISTURE...WHERE PWATS WILL RISE
FROM NEAR A HALF INCH THIS MORNING TO THREE QUARTERS OF AN INCH
OF LIQUID DURING THE NIGHT. THE MAIN AREA OF CONCERN FOR HEAVY
PRECIPITATION WILL BE NEAR THE CASCADE CREST...AND FROM NORTHEAST
WASHINGTON INTO THE IDAHO PANHANDLE. SNOW LEVELS WILL SLOWLY RISE
OVERNIGHT...LIFTING FROM THE VALLEYS AND KEEPING THE HEAVY SNOW IN
THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. WILL CONTINUE A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR
HEAVY SNOW FOR THE NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS.
VALLEYS LOCATIONS NEAR THE CANADIAN BORER WILL SEE A COUPLE MORE INCHES
OF NEW SNOW BEFORE CHANGING TO RAIN. COLD AIR IS ERODING OVER THE
WESTERN BASIN...AND WILL DROP THE THREAT FOR FREEZING RAIN FROM
MOSES LAKE AND EPHRATA AS TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING.
COLD AIR STILL LINGERS FROM WENATCHEE TO OMAK AND THE ADJACENT
EAST SLOPE VALLEYS...WHERE COLD AIR WILL BE DIFFICULT TO SCRUB
OUT. WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF FREEZING RAIN AND A
RAIN SNOW MIX FOR THESE LOCATIONS THROUGH THE NIGHT. UNDER THE
SOUTHWEST FLOW...PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS WILL BE FAIRLY LIGHT FOR
THE EAST SLOPE VALLEYS AND NOT ANTICIPATING SIGNIFICANT SNOW
EXCEPT NEAR THE PASS LOCATIONS. WITH WARMING DURING THE NIGHT...LOWS
WILL BE SIMILAR TO THE CURRENT LATE AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES. /RFOX.
...SNOW LOADING ON FLAT ROOFS AND FLOODING CONCERNS RISE AS RAIN
AND MILD TEMPERATURES SPREAD OVER THE INLAND NORTHWEST...
WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...THE FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY
HAS CHANGED LITTLE. ROUNDS OF LIGHT TO MODERATE RAIN ARE EXPECTED
TO PRODUCE AROUND AN INCH OF LIQUID PRECIPITATION IN THE SPOKANE
AREA...WITH AMOUNTS AROUND AN INCH AND A HALF IN COEUR DALENE AND
OVER THE IDAHO PALOUSE. LIQUID AMOUNTS ALONG THE CASCADE CREST
COULD BE AS HIGH AS 4 TO 8 INCHES...AND THE UPSLOPE ZONES IN THE
IDAHO PANHANDLE WILL RANGE FROM 3 TO 5 INCHES OF LIQUID
EQUIVALENT. BREEZY AND MILD CONDITIONS WILL ALSO DEVELOP TONIGHT
AND CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY. BREEZY CONDITIONS COUPLED WITH
DEWPOINTS ABOVE 32 DEGREES WILL INCREASE THE RATE OF SNOW MELT AND
FURTHER RIPEN THE LOW LEVEL SNOW-PACK.
WATER VAPOR IMAGERY FROM THIS AFTERNOON SHOWS A DEEP TAP OF
SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE ORIGINATING SOUTH AND WEST OF THE HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS DIRECTED NORTH TOWARD THE SOUTHERN COAST OF BRITISH
COLUMBIA. AS A BROAD SLOW MOVING TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL PACIFIC
BASIN MOVES EAST...THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST WILL BE DIRECTLY TARGETED
BY THIS IMPRESSIVE MOISTURE TAP. NOT UNTIL THURSDAY EVENING WILL
THE PLUME OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE BE SHUNTED SOUTH AND EAST OF THE
SPOKANE FORECAST AREA.
SEVERAL PRODUCTS HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO STATE THE POTENTIAL
SERIOUSNESS OF THIS DEVELOPING WEATHER SITUATION.
...A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT IS IN EFFECT EXPLAINING THE
IMPLICATIONS OF RAIN FALLING INTO THE SNOW-PACK. SNOW LOADING ON
FLAT TOP ROOFS IS A MAJOR CONCERN...ESPECIALLY TONIGHT INTO
TOMORROW MORNING AS THE SNOW-PACK RIPENS...
...THE FLOOD WATCH FOR ROUGHLY THE EASTERN THIRD OF WASHINGTON AND
MUCH OF NORTHERN IDAHO WILL BE REPLACED WITH URBAN AND SMALL
STREAM FLOOD WARNINGS FOR THE SPOKANE/COEUR DALENE AREA...FOR THE
PALOUSE AND PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. A FLOOD ADVISORY
WILL BE ISSUED FOR THE COUNTIES NORTH AND EAST OF THE METRO AREA
SINCE RAIN AMOUNTS...WARM BREEZES...THE THE URBAN DRAINAGE
PROBLEMS WILL NOT BE AS PROLIFIC...
...HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK CONTAINS A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE
THREAT POTENTIAL FOR THE NEXT 7 DAYS...
/GKOCH
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...AGREEMENT AMONG ALL GLOBAL
MODELS CONSISTING OF THE GEFS MEAN/GFS/EURO/CANADIAN/DGEX
IS VERY STRONG THAT A DIRTY RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL BEGIN TO
BUILD INTO THE NORTHWEST REGION BRINGING MUCH DRIER CONDITIONS FOR
A MAJORITY OF EASTERN WA AND NORTHERN ID. THE DIRTY RIDGE MEANS
THAT MID AND UPPER-LEVEL MOISTURE WILL CONTINUE TO SKIRT ACROSS
SOUTHERN BC AND OUR FAR NORTHERN ZONES KEEPING SLIGHT CHANCE POPS
MAINLY FOR THE HIGHER TERRAIN...OTHERWISE...EXPECT A WELL NEEDED
BREAK IN THE PRECIPITATION FOR THE BASIN AND VALLEYS.
SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MODELS CONTINUE TO SHOW STRONG
AGREEMENT THAT THE RIDGE WILL AMPLIFY SHARPLY OFFSHORE NEAR
130W...HOWEVER...THERE IS SOME DISAGREEMENT OF THE EXACT PLACEMENT
OF THE RIDGE AXIS...WHETHER IT TAKES ON A POSITIVE/NEGATIVE
TILT...AND RELATIVE IMPACTS FOR EASTERN WA/NORTHERN ID. THE 12Z
EURO INDICATES A SLIGHTLY MORE NEGATIVE TILT TO THE RIDGE WITH THE
AXIS ORIENTED FROM THE ALEUTIANS SOUTH TO THE COAST OF
CA...ALLOWING A COOLER NORTHWEST FLOW THROUGH EASTERN WA AND
CHANCE FOR ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS...POSSIBLY A CLIPPER SYSTEM
SLIDING THROUGH. THE 12Z GFS ILLUSTRATES A MORE POSITIVE TILT TO THE
RIDGE INTO THE NORTHWEST...DIRECTING MOISTURE INTO CENTRAL BC AND
MONTANA RESULTING IN WARMER...MUCH DRIER CONDITIONS. ENSEMBLE
MEANS ARE SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. BY ANYMEANS...IT
WILL BE A MUCH DRIER FORECAST THEN WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING WITH
SLIGHT CHANCE FOR MTN SNOW SHOWERS. VALLEYS ALTHOUGH THEY MAY BE
DRY... WILL LIKELY HAVE TO DEAL WITH FOG AND STRATUS THROUGH THE
PERIOD. /BODNAR
&&
.AVIATION...
WARM MOIST AIR WILL CONTINUE TO OVERRUN A DEEP SNOWPACK ACROSS ALL
TERMINALS PRODUCING IFR/LIFR CIGS AND VIS. WINDS WILL INCREASE AFT
02-04Z IN THE EASTERN TERMINALS BRINGING BETTER MIXING AND POTENTIAL
FOR IMPROVING CIG/VIS BUT CONDITIONS WILL LIKELY REMAIN NEAR IFR.
ANY PASSING SHOWERS IN THE VCNTY OF KEAT WILL FALL AS -FZRASN...
OTHERWISE P-TYPE FOR ALL OTHER TERMINALS WILL BE RAIN. CIGS AND VIS
WILL REMAIN NEAR VFR WITH TEMPO MVFR CONDITIONS DUE TO DOWNSLOPING
WINDS OFF THE NORTHERN BLUE MTS. EXPECT WIDESPREAD MTN OBSURATIONS
ACROSS ALL TERMINALS. /BODNAR
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
SPOKANE 33 42 37 42 29 29 / 70 80 90 90 20 10
COEUR DALENE 33 40 36 41 29 31 / 90 90 100 100 30 10
PULLMAN 34 45 40 45 31 34 / 80 100 90 100 30 10
LEWISTON 37 50 43 49 35 39 / 70 60 60 70 20 10
COLVILLE 31 35 34 40 26 29 / 70 60 90 70 10 10
SANDPOINT 32 37 36 39 30 30 / 100 100 100 100 30 10
KELLOGG 33 37 36 37 29 30 / 100 100 100 100 50 20
MOSES LAKE 32 41 37 41 24 30 / 20 20 50 30 10 10
WENATCHEE 26 37 36 43 26 32 / 20 30 40 20 10 10
OMAK 27 37 34 41 24 29 / 30 20 70 20 10 10
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST WEDNESDAY ABOVE 3000 FEET
FOR NORTHERN PANHANDLE.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST WEDNESDAY ABOVE 3500 FEET
FOR CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS.
FLOOD WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST
AREA.
WA...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 10 AM PST WEDNESDAY ABOVE 3000 FEET
FOR NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS.
FLOOD WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST
AREA.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 540 AM PST TUE JAN 6 2009 IDZ003-026-027-WAZ031>035-038-041>044-071345- IDAHO PALOUSE-LEWISTON AREA-LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES- NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS-LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES- WASHINGTON PALOUSE-MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN- OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA-EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES- OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 540 AM PST TUE JAN 6 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO... NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...CENTRAL WASHINGTON...EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE WILL BE AIMED AT THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING BRINGING RISING SNOW LEVELS AND HEAVY RAINFALL TO PORTIONS OF THE AREA. THIS WILL LEAD TO RAPID RISES ON SMALL STREAMS DUE TO A COMBINATION OF RAIN AND SNOW MELT. STRONG WESTERLY FLOW WILL LEAD TO THE HIGHEST PRECIPITATION TOTALS AND THE MAIN FLOODING POTENTIAL FOR THE EAST SLOPES OF THE NORTH WASHINGTON CASCADES...CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS...SPOKANE AND COEUR DALENE AREAS...AND THE PALOUSE. URBAN FLOODING IS ALSO A GOOD POSSIBILITY. IDZ001-002-004-WAZ036-037-071345- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR DALENE AREA-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS- SPOKANE AREA-NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS- 540 AM PST TUE JAN 6 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO AND NORTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IS EXPECTED TODAY FOR THE SPOKANE REGION...NORTH IDAHO...AND NORTHEAST WASHINGTON. THE HEAVIEST SNOWS WILL FALL IN THE MOUNTAINS ADJACENT TO THE BC BORDER AND MONTANA. THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE TO RAIN IN THE SPOKANE AREA BY MIDDAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE WILL BE AIMED AT THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING BRINGING RISING SNOW LEVELS AND HEAVY RAINFALL TO PORTIONS OF THE AREA. THIS WILL LEAD TO RAPID RISES ON SMALL STREAMS DUE TO A COMBINATION OF RAIN AND SNOW MELT. STRONG WESTERLY FLOW WILL LEAD TO THE HIGHEST PRECIPITATION TOTALS AND THE MAIN FLOODING POTENTIAL FOR THE EAST SLOPES OF THE NORTH WASHINGTON CASCADES...CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS...SPOKANE AND COEUR DALENE AREAS...AND THE PALOUSE. URBAN FLOODING IS ALSO A GOOD POSSIBILITY.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
345 PM PST TUE JAN 06 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0341 PM HEAVY SNOW SPIRIT LAKE 47.97N 116.87W
01/06/2009 M4.5 INCH KOOTENAI ID TRAINED SPOTTER
NEW SNOW SINCE THIS MORNING. KOOTENAI 65 ELEV 2600 FT
0341 PM HEAVY SNOW NEWPORT 48.18N 117.05W
01/06/2009 M4.5 INCH PEND OREILLE WA AMATEUR RADIO
NEW SNOW SINCE THIS MORNING SPOTTER PEND OREILLE 24 ELEV
2185
&&
MJFPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
439 PM PST TUE JAN 06 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0341 PM HEAVY SNOW SPIRIT LAKE 47.97N 116.87W
01/06/2009 M4.5 INCH KOOTENAI ID TRAINED SPOTTER
NEW SNOW SINCE THIS MORNING. KOOTENAI 65 ELEV 2600 FT
0341 PM HEAVY SNOW NEWPORT 48.18N 117.05W
01/06/2009 M4.5 INCH PEND OREILLE WA AMATEUR RADIO
NEW SNOW SINCE THIS MORNING SPOTTER PEND OREILLE 24 ELEV
2185
0345 PM HEAVY SNOW SANDPOINT 48.28N 116.56W
01/06/2009 E5.0 INCH BONNER ID PUBLIC
ELEVATION 2100 FEET. ID BONNER-49. SNOW TOTAL SINCE EARLY
MORNING.
&&
GKOCHSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 502 PM PST TUE JAN 6 2009 IDZ001>004-WAZ033-036-037-071500- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR DALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE- CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-WASHINGTON PALOUSE-SPOKANE AREA- NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SANDPOINT...RATHDRUM...BONNERS FERRY... PRIEST RIVER...COEUR DALENE...POST FALLS...HAYDEN...MOSCOW... PLUMMER...POTLATCH...GENESEE...KELLOGG...ST MARIES...PINEHURST... OSBURN...WALLACE...MULLAN...PULLMAN...COLFAX...ROSALIA... LA CROSSE...SPOKANE...CHENEY...DAVENPORT...ROCKFORD...COLVILLE... DEER PARK...CHEWELAH...NEWPORT...KETTLE FALLS 502 PM PST TUE JAN 6 2009 ...SNOW LOADING ON ROOF TOPS A MAJOR CONCERN TONIGHT AND TOMORROW... SNOW LOADING ON FLAT ROOFS AND LOW SLOPED ROOFS COULD BECOME A SERIOUS PROBLEM TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. OVERNIGHT...AN ADDITIONAL TENTH OF AN INCH OF RAIN WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE SPOKANE AREA... AND AMOUNTS UP TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH WILL BE POSSIBLE IN COEUR DALENE. AN ADDITIONAL QUARTER OF AN INCH OF RAIN IS LIKELY DURING THE DAY TOMORROW...ADDING TO THE WEIGHT OF THE SNOW ON FLAT ROOF TOPS. THE HEAVIEST RAINS ARE EXPECTED WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON TOTAL RAIN AMOUNTS OF AN INCH AND A HALF ARE EXPECTED IN SPOKANE. AMOUNTS EXCEEDING 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE COEUR DALENE AND PULLMAN AREAS. THE RAIN WILL INITIALLY MAKE THE SNOW SITTING ON ROOF TOPS HEAVIER. THE DEEP...HEAVY SNOW COVER HAS CAUSED NUMEROUS ROOF FAILURES IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA...AND THE PROBLEM OF SNOW LOADING IS GOING TO GET WORSE DURING THE 24 TO 36 HOURS. OUTSIDE THE SPOKANE METRO...DEEP SNOW-PACK IS ALSO PREVALENT IN THE CHENEY...DEER PARK...DAVENPORT...BONNERS FERRY...SANDPOINT...AND KELLOGG AREAS. ACCORDING TO THE CITY OF SPOKANE...STRUCTURES WITH FLAT ROOFS WILL BE THE MOST PRONE TO HEAVY SNOW LOADING. THE ROOF DRAINS ON FLAT OR LOW-SLOPE BUILDINGS ARE EASILY BLOCKED BY ICE...AND MAY NOT DRAIN PROPERLY. THE ADDITION OF RAIN ONTO SNOW CAN BE ESPECIALLY PROBLEMATIC FOR FLAT ROOFS BECAUSE SNOW CAN ABSORB THE RAIN...INCREASING THE LOAD ON THE STRUCTURE. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SNOW LOADING IN SPOKANE VISIT WWW.SPOKANECITY.ORG AND CLICK ON PREVENT ROOF COLLAPSE...AND...MORE PLOWING...ICE SCRAPING SET FOR TUESDAY.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
623 PM PST TUE JAN 06 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0621 PM HEAVY SNOW 5 NW DEER PARK 48.01N 117.51W
01/06/2009 M4.0 INCH SPOKANE WA NWS EMPLOYEE
CLAYTON...4 INCHES TOTAL FOR TODAY. SNOW ENDED.
&&
MJFThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, January 2009
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: 150933, 150975.