Rainfall along a cold front overnight on March 15th gave way to clearing skies during the early morning hours on March 16th. Radiational cooling dropped temperatures to below freezing in some spots in the Spokane Area.
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 episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
Rainfall along a cold front overnight on March 15th gave way to clearing skies during the early morning hours on March 16th. Radiational cooling dropped temperatures to below freezing in some spots in the Spokane Area. Icy conditions followed as some of this water from earlier rainfall remained on roadways.
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 16, 3:55 AM PST, 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 455 AM PDT WED MAR 16 2011 .SYNOPSIS... WEATHER WILL REMAIN SHOWERY TODAY AND TOMORROW...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING HOURS. ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY WITH MAINLY VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW EXPECTED. COOL AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL CONTINUE TO NEXT WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... TODAY AND TONIGHT...COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE EAST OF THE REGION EARLY THIS MORNING AS THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH BEGINS TO ENVELOP MUCH OF THE OF THE NORTHWEST. AN UPPER LEVEL COLD POOL WILL ACCOMPANY THE TROUGH WITH STEEPENING LAPSE RATES THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE ATMOSPHERIC COLUMN. MODELS INDICATE 500 MB TEMPS AS COLD AS -32 TO -34 DEGREES OVER MUCH OF EASTERN WASHINGTON AND NORTHERN IDAHO BY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS DESTABILIZATION WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED SHOWERS OVER MUCH OF THE REGION BY THE AFTERNOON HOURS WHEN SURFACE HEATING INTENSIFIES. CONFIDENCE IS HIGH THAT SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP...ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTHEAST MTNS AND PANHANDLE. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL SEE ANY T-STORMS. THE GFS SOLUTION WOULD SUPPORT THIS IDEA. SURFACE BASED CAPE VALUES OVER THE BASIN RANGE FROM 200-300 J/KG OVER THE BASIN AND PANHANDLE TO 300-500 J/KG OVER THE NORTHERN MTNS WITH LIFTED INDEX VALUES DOWN TO AS LOW AS -2 DEG C. ON THE OTHER HAND...THE NAM SOLUTION LOOKS MARGINAL AT BEST FOR T-STORM DEVELOPMENT. CAPE VALUES ARE MORE IN THE RANGE OF 100-200 J/KG AND MAINLY ONLY HIGHLIGHTS THE NORTHERN MTNS AND EXTREME E WASHINGTON AND THE IDAHO PANHANDLE. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO MODELS IS THE SURFACE TEMPS AND DEW POINT TEMPS. THE NAM IS SLIGHTLY COOLER AND SIGNIFICANTLY DRIER OVERALL THAN THE GFS. DECIDED TO LEAN TOWARD THE NAM SOLUTION AS THIS MODEL SEEMS TO BE HANDLING THE LOW LEVEL MOISTURE A BIT BETTER THAN THE GFS. WILL NOT BE COMPLETELY SURPRISED WITH WE DO SEE SOME ISOLATED T-STORMS...ESPECIALLY IF THE GFS TURNS OUT TO BE CORRECT. DO EXPECT THERE TO BE SOME GRAUPEL WITH THESE SHOWERS AS WELL. /SVH THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT OF A COOL...SHOWERY WEATHER PATTERN SETTING UP AS A COLD CORE UPPER- LEVEL TROF SETTLES OVER THE EASTERN PAC/PAC NW KEEPING THE AIR MASS RATHER UNSTABLE. WHILE AFTERNOON HEATING WILL TRIGGER AFTN CONVECTION....A PERSISTENT LOW PARKED OFF THE WA/OR COAST WILL SEND A MYRIAD OF WEAK IMPULSES INTO THE REGION FURTHER FUELING PCPN CHANCES. EVENING WATER VAPOR IMAGERY INDICATES AN AREA OF DARKENING CROSSING THE WESTERN ALEUTIAN ISLAND CHAIN...DRIVEN UNDER A POWERFUL PACIFIC JET. AS THIS FEATURE SLIDES UNDER THE CURRENT GULF OF ALASKA LOW...MODELS ARE GOOD AGREEMENT THAT IT WILL QUICKLY DEEPEN UPON REACHING 130W...JUST OFF THE WA/OR COAST THUR MORNING...THEN BOTTOMING OUT IN INTENSITY SOME POINT THURSDAY NIGHT. FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...THIS LOW WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY WHILE SENDING NUMEROUS IMPULSES INTO THE INLAND NW. TIMING AND STRENGTH OF SUCH WAVES WILL BE RESERVED FOR THE SHORT-TERM DESK AS THE IMPULSES BECOME BETTER TRACKED VIA SATELLITE. UNTIL THEN...THE MAIN PCPN MECHANISM WILL BE AFTERNOON CONVECTION COUPLED WITH UPSLOPING FLOW. LOW-LEVEL FLOW WILL START OFF OUT OF THE SOUTH ON THURSDAY...FAVORING THE NORTHERN MTNS. BY THUR NT THROUGH FRIDAY... THE FLOW WILL BACK TO THE E/SE IN RESPONSE TO THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM NEARING THE WA/OR COAST. THIS WILL SHIFT THE HIGHEST POPS INTO THE EAST SLOPES AND WESTERN BASIN WITH SOME DRYING/DOWNSLOPING FOR PORTIONS IDAHO AND FAR REACHES OF WA. IN THIS SETUP...CONFIDENCE IS PROBABLY LOWEST OVER MY EASTERN ZONES DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF WEAK IMPULSES TRACKING THROUGH ALOFT...EACH CAPABLE OF TAPPING INTO THE INSTABILITY BUT AS MENTIONED ABOVE...THE TIMING AND STRENGTH OF SUCH FEATURES ARE POORLY MODELED EVEN 24 HRS OUT...SO WILL HOLD TO A RELATIVELY DRIER FCST COMPARED TO THE EAST SLOPES. BY SATURDAY...MODELS REMAIN IN FAIR TO GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THE LOW WILL BE DRIFTING ONTO THE COAST AND THE STRONGEST OF ALL THE IMPULSES WILL PIVOT AROUND THE LOW...SLINGING ACROSS THE INLAND NW. THIS WILL DRAG A WARMER OCCLUSION AND BE THE MOST PRONOUNCED FRONTAL BOUNDARY OF THE PERIOD...CARRYING THE HIGHEST POPS REGION- WIDE. PCPN TYPES WILL BE A WIDE VARIETY BASED ON THE INTENSITY OF THE SHOWER AND TIME OF DAY. WHEN ALL SAID AND DONE...I WOULD ANTICIPATE WE GET REPORTS OF SNOW GRAINS...GRAUPEL...ICE PELLETS...RAIN...AND/OR MIX OF ALL ABOVE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL BE RUNNING SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL...WITH AN EVEN GREATER DEPARTURE FROM NORMAL ACROSS THE EAST SLOPES AND WESTERN BASIN BY FRIDAY UNDER A PERSISTENT EASTERLY FLOW. SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY...AN UPPER-LEVEL TROUGH WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE WEST WITH A CONTINUED BARRAGE OF PACIFIC ENERGY RELOADING THE TROUGH ROUGHLY EVERY 24-30 HRS. MODELS BEGIN TO DIVERGE SOME REGARDING HOW DEEP THE TROUGH WILL REMAIN...THUS EXACT TRACK OF EACH PIECE OF ENERGY DIVING OUT OF THE NORTH PACIFIC REMAINS TO BE DETERMINED. BY ANY MEANS...A COOLER...UNSETTLED WEATHER REGIME APPEARS PLAUSIBLE WITH NO SIGNS OF A PATTERN CHANGE ANYWHERE ON THE HORIZON. /SB && .AVIATION... ATMOSPHERE WILL DESTABILIZE THIS AFTERNOON WITH WIDESPREAD SHOWERS INCREASING THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWERS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SHORT BURST OF HEAVY RAIN OR GRAUPLE. HEAVIER GRAUPLE SHOWERS WILL LIKELY REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO BETWEEN 2-4 MILES. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF T-STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AS WELL...BUT CONFIDENCE IS TOO LOW TO PUT IN THE FORECAST. BEST CHANCES FOR T-STORM DEVELOPMENT WOULD BE ACROSS THE NORTHERN MTNS WHERE THE STRONGEST INSTABILITY SHOULD EXIST. /SVH && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... SPOKANE 45 30 45 30 49 32 / 50 30 30 20 10 60 COEUR D'ALENE 43 30 44 29 48 33 / 60 40 30 20 10 50 PULLMAN 44 30 44 31 50 32 / 60 50 20 10 10 50 LEWISTON 50 34 51 35 56 36 / 50 40 20 10 10 50 COLVILLE 45 29 45 29 48 34 / 60 50 30 20 30 70 SANDPOINT 41 31 42 29 47 33 / 70 50 30 20 20 40 KELLOGG 40 28 42 28 46 32 / 80 60 30 20 20 50 MOSES LAKE 50 30 49 32 51 32 / 30 10 10 20 40 60 WENATCHEE 49 30 48 32 42 30 / 30 10 10 20 60 60 OMAK 47 30 45 29 43 32 / 30 10 20 20 50 70 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...NONE. WA...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 1028 PM PDT TUE MAR 15 2011 IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>038-041>044-161500- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR D'ALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE- CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS-LEWISTON AREA- LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS- LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES-WASHINGTON PALOUSE- MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA- NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA- EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 1028 PM PDT TUE MAR 15 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH IDAHO... NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO...CENTRAL WASHINGTON...EAST CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTH CENTRAL WASHINGTON...NORTHEAST WASHINGTON AND SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A pickup truck heading west on Government Way lost control near the intersection of Aubrey L. White Parkway and flipped off the road. The 47 year old male driver was pronounced dead on the scene shortly after law enforcement arrived.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, Spokane Area | 2011-03-16 | 47 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, March 2011
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: 287834.