A mid-level cold front swept through the region ushering in drier air and tightening pressure gradients with frontal passage. Afternoon heating resulted in breezy conditions across the Moses Lake area as stronger winds aloft were mixed down to the surface.
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The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
A mid-level cold front swept through the region ushering in drier air and tightening pressure gradients with frontal passage. Afternoon heating resulted in breezy conditions across the Moses Lake area as stronger winds aloft were mixed down to the surface. The breezy and dry conditions fueled a wildfire along State Route 26 near the Grant, Adams County boarder.
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 Jun 13, 10:05 AM PST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 1105 AM PDT Wed Jun 13 2012 .SYNOPSIS... Showers and thunderstorms are expected to redevelop today over northeast Washington and the Idaho Panhandle, as a low pressure system lingers over the region. Thursday through Saturday will be mainly dry, with near average temperatures. A low pressure system tracking through southern Canada Sunday will bring breezy conditions to the Inland Northwest, and the potential for mountain rain showers. The chance for mountain showers will linger into Tuesday of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Update for today: Quite the active morning across NE WA and N ID where low level theta-e convergence within the surface to 850mb layer utilized 750J/kg of CAPE noted on the 12z KOTX sounding. This resulted in a training line of heavy showers and thunderstorms from Keller/Fruitland toward CDA and northern Shoshone county where upwards of 1.00" fell within the 6 hour period. This line has since weakened in intensity as the rain cooled air depleted some of the instability however partial clearing near the Canadian Border and along the outer edges of the cloud shield has resulted in quick redeveloping cells. We have issued an urban and small stream flood advisory to address this activity and potential for additional thunderstorms dropping in from the northwest. For the remainder of today, the richest moisture will remain across NE WA and N ID. Meanwhile, drier air has begun to flood into the East Slopes, Western Basin, Blue Mtns, and L-C Valley. A second midlevel wave is just reaching the Cascades and as this wave crosses into the Inland NW, a cool occlusion will lift N/NE through the region. The combination of heating, this frontal boundary, and deeper moisture along and east of a line from Omak to Colfax should keep the threat for showers and thunderstorms rather high through the evening hours. We will have to keep an eye on the overnight hours with models keeping a theta-e ridge locked over far NE WA and N ID once again into Thursday morning. Main changes to the forecast were to increase PoPs along and East of line from Omak to Colfax...decrease west and south of this line. Increase QPF under the highest Pops to show around a tenth or more where the boundary is expected to setup this afternoon and fine tune skies. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAFS: An upper trough and embedded disturbances will continue to make there way across the Inland Northwest through this evening. Scattered showers and isold thunderstorms this will be likely for all points north and east of a line from Colfax, WA to Omak, WA including the Spokane-Cda terminals. MVFR conditions are possible in heavier showers/storms with heavy rain and gusty winds the main threats until late afternoon when a small hail threat becomes renewed. Cooler, drier, more stable air will flood into the Cascades and lower/western Basin making for a breezy but generally dry day for Wenatchee-Moses Lake...and Lewiston. Pullman will be on the outer fridges of the main thunder threat and opted to include VCSH at this time and not thunder due to the drier dewpoints in place. We expect a general drying trend for most terminals this evening into the overnight hours except the far northeast...including Sandpoint...Bonners Ferry...and Colville where lingering instability may present another night of convective activity. Heavy rain from today will also lead to a low confidence fog fcst in the sheltered valleys of NE WA and N ID. /sb && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 69 46 69 45 70 47 / 70 30 10 10 10 10 Coeur d'Alene 65 46 68 45 69 46 / 100 40 10 10 20 10 Pullman 65 43 67 43 68 45 / 30 20 0 10 10 10 Lewiston 73 49 75 50 74 53 / 20 10 0 10 10 0 Colville 71 46 72 46 76 47 / 100 40 30 30 10 0 Sandpoint 63 45 67 43 68 42 / 80 40 30 40 30 10 Kellogg 62 43 65 44 66 48 / 70 40 20 30 30 20 Moses Lake 78 48 76 48 78 55 / 10 10 0 10 10 0 Wenatchee 74 51 74 50 78 54 / 10 10 0 10 0 0 Omak 75 46 74 44 78 48 / 70 20 20 10 10 10 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 631 AM PDT WED JUN 13 2012 IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>038-041>044-141345- 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- 631 AM PDT WED JUN 13 2012 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...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire broke out near the Grant, Adams County line along State Route 26. The fire consumed approximately 1500 acres of sage brush and cheat grass. The fire was believed to be contained sometime Friday morning on the fifteenth. No injuries or damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, June 2012
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: 385890.