A strong and fairly dry cold front passed thorugh Eastern Washington and brought damaging winds and blowing dust to the area in addition to causing extreme fire behavior.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
A strong and fairly dry cold front passed thorugh Eastern Washington and brought damaging winds and blowing dust to the area in addition to causing extreme fire behavior.
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 Aug 28, 9:51 PM PST, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
1051 PM PDT FRI AUG 28 2015
.SYNOPSIS...
A cold front will push through the Inland Northwest on Saturday
and bring high winds to the region. This will create a situation
for blowing dust with reduced visibility. There is the potential
for toppled trees and downed power lines as well. A cooler and
occasionally breezy regime with some shower activity will persist
through the next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Evening update: forecast in generally on track. The strong cold
front is pushing on the north CA/southwest OR coast and heading
northeastward and is generally on track to pass east of the
Cascades tomorrow morning, generally in the next 9 to 12 hours. No
real changes made to the ongoing forecast. /J. Cote'
&&
.AVIATION...
06Z TAFS: A cold front will continue to approach the coast tonight
and shift across the region between Saturday morning and early
afternoon. Overnight developing inversions will bring the threat
of MVFR visibility from smoke. Some LLWS is projected just ahead
of the cold front. That front is expected to pass between 15 and
19Z, which will bring strong winds to the surface across the
region but especially from MWH to GEG with possible gusts over 50
mph. High Wind Watches are in place. As a result of the winds
blowing dust is expected, with localized MVFR/IFR vis. The better
threat of IFR (even LIFR) vis will be across the Columbia Basin,
around MWH and MVFR elsewhere. Some showers are possible. The
best threat will be within the Cascades and northern mountains.
There is also a threat of some afternoon thunderstorms around the
mountains. As for TAF sites, the best shower threat will be near
EAT and PUW. Elsewhere there will be some shower potential but
confidence is low. Winds may begin to abate some in the late
afternoon and the blowing dust should abate too. /J. Cote'
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane 66 81 53 67 52 68 / 10 30 20 60 10 10
Coeur d'Alene 62 82 52 63 49 69 / 10 40 20 60 10 20
Pullman 65 82 52 67 50 73 / 10 30 20 60 10 10
Lewiston 67 88 58 72 55 79 / 10 20 20 40 10 10
Colville 60 82 51 68 50 68 / 20 40 30 70 20 40
Sandpoint 57 82 50 62 48 66 / 20 40 20 80 20 40
Kellogg 59 82 49 61 47 69 / 10 30 30 70 20 20
Moses Lake 65 79 55 73 54 75 / 10 20 40 50 10 10
Wenatchee 65 76 56 70 55 72 / 30 30 50 30 10 20
Omak 60 77 52 68 51 72 / 30 40 70 50 20 20
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 7 PM PDT Saturday for Northern
and Central Idaho Panhandle (Zone 101).
High Wind Watch from 9 AM PDT Saturday through Saturday evening
for Central Panhandle Mountains-Coeur d'Alene Area-Idaho
Palouse-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties-Lewiston Area-
Northern Panhandle.
WA...Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 7 PM PDT Saturday for East
Washington Central Cascade Valleys (Zone 677)-East
Washington Northeast (Zone 686)-East Washington Northern
Columbia Basin (Zone 673)-East Washington Okanogan
Highlands (Zone 687)-East Washington Okanogan/Methow
Valleys (Zone 684)-East Washington Palouse and Spokane Area
(Zone 674).
High Wind Watch from 9 AM PDT Saturday through Saturday evening
for Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake Area-
Northeast Blue Mountains-Northeast Mountains-Okanogan
Highlands-Okanogan Valley-Spokane Area-Upper Columbia Basin-
Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau.
&&HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 602 AM PDT FRI AUG 28 2015 IDZ002-003-026-027-WAZ031>036-044-291400- COEUR D'ALENE AREA-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-SPOKANE AREA- WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 602 AM PDT FRI AUG 28 2015 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho... North Central Idaho...Central Washington...East Central Washington...Northeast Washington and Southeast Washington. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY Saturday a strong cold front will move through the region. The potential exists for very strong winds during the day Saturday with gusts up to 60 mph over much of the region. In addition to damage and power outages these winds will produce widespread blowing dust with local visibilities near zero and will disrupt travel on area highways throughout the Columbia Basin. A cooler than normal, breezy and showery weather pattern is expected through the upcoming week. WAZ041-042-291400- WENATCHEE AREA-EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES- 602 AM PDT FRI AUG 28 2015 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Central Washington. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY Moderate rain is expected across the Cascade mountains Saturday. The heaviest amounts...an inch or more will be found along the crest of the Cascades. The further away one goes from the crest, the less rain is expected. Cascade valleys and the Wenatchee area could see anywhere from a tenth of an inch up to three tenths of an inch. IDZ001-004-WAZ037-038-043-291400- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS- NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-OKANOGAN VALLEY- 602 AM PDT FRI AUG 28 2015 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho... North Central Washington and Northeast Washington. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY On Saturday a strong cold front will move through the region. The potential exists for very strong winds during the day Saturday with gusts up to 60 mph. 60 to 70 mph wind gusts are possible across the mountains. Winds will likely be lower in the valleys but occasional strong gusts will aggravate fire fighting efforts and may cause scattered power outages. A cooler than normal, breezy and showery weather pattern is expected through the upcoming week.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
6 dust storm, 2 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An amateur radio operator 22 miles southwest of Ritzville, WA reported one half mile visibility or less with zero visibility in spots due to blowing dust.
An emergency manager reported blowing dust reducing visibility to less than one quarter mile along highways 395 and 21 which is about 15 miles west of Ritzville, WA.
A trained spotter reported blowing dusts reducing visibility to near one quarter mile due to sustained 40 mph winds with gusts to 50 mph near Mansfield, WA.
A trained spotter reported blowing dust and smoke reducing visibility to near 1/8 of a mile near Colfax, WA.
A member of the broadcast media reported power lines down in Spokane Valley, WA.
A member of public reported a tree down over a road and powerlines down under a treee 2 miles south of Spokane, WA.
The Washington State Department of Transportation closed I-90 between Vantage, WA and George, WA due to low visibility in dusts storm.
A trained spotter reported 50 mph winds producing significant blowing dusts 2 miles northwest of Moses Lake, WA.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, August 2015
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: 592469, 592466, 592467, 592468, 592475, 592474, 592476, 592477.