This lightning caused complex of wildfires burned 65,587 acres and cost over $34 million dollars to suppress.
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.
This lightning caused complex of wildfires burned 65,587 acres and cost over $34 million dollars to suppress.
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 Sep 30, 9:41 PM PST, 2 hours 19 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 1041 PM PDT WED SEP 30 2015 .SYNOPSIS... Sunny days and chilly nights are expected through the remainder of the work week. A strong Pacific weather system will move through the region over the weekend. While this storm will bring some rain, the main impact will be strong winds. Quiet weather will return for the first half of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Tonight and Thursday: The sheared low off the west coast is finally starting to move onshore. Mid/High clouds have overspread all of Oregon today. These will move across our forecast area, with the thickest clouds over the southern Panhandle and southeast Washington. Main effect from this will be to moderate the temperatures tonight (not as chilly) and tomorrow (not as warm). The exception to this will be in and near the Cascades where there should be few if any clouds from this system. The other weather situation of note will continue to be the wild fire smoke in the northern Panhandle. Strong inversions and light winds have created Unhealthy-Category conditions at times. This probably won't change much until the stronger winds this weekend. RJ Thursday night and Friday: Shortwave ridging will slide in over the region ahead of a deepening upper level low pressure system. A lower levels in the atmosphere, a deepening marine layer ahead of this system will push through the Cascade gaps. This will result in breezy gap winds that will funnel out over the basin. There will also be increasing mid to high level clouds and with the cooler air pushing across will drop temperatures significantly into the low to mid 70s. Breeziest winds will be felt in the lee of the Cascades. The Wenatchee Area will see sustained winds of around 15-20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph possible. ...GUSTY NORTHERLY WINDS ON SATURDAY... Friday night through Sunday: A very dynamic upper level low will push across the region. The track of this low is coming into better agreement amongst model guidance. Model consensus shows the center of the upper level low tracking north to south across western WA Friday night and into northern CA by Saturday afternoon. The main feature of note with this system will be for increasing northerly winds Friday night into Saturday. There will not be much upper level support to generate strong wind gusts, but the pressure gradient will be tight enough to support strong sustained winds. Moisture will be lacking, so this system does not look to produce much in the way of rainfall. Best chances for precip will be in the Cascades from Friday night into Saturday morning. Wind Speeds: Strongest wind with this system will be down the Okanogan Valley and also through the Purcell Trench. Winds are expected to be strongest through the Okanogan Valley Friday night into Saturday morning. Rain cooled air from BC and funneling effects through the topography look to enhance the winds through the Okanogan Valley during this time. It then looks like winds will become quite windy through the Purcell Trench during the coarse of Saturday as the pressure gradient takes a bit more east to west orientation to it. Expect both these areas to experience sustained winds of around 20-25 mph with gusts to between 30-40 mph. Similar wind speeds will be possible in the more exposed areas of the Waterville Plateau and across the Upper Columbia Basin and on the Spokane West Plains. Precipitation: There is less model agreement with precipitation amounts. This part of the forecast is more uncertain than the kind of winds we can expect. The NAM does show the potential for weaker convection over the Cascades Friday night. This may result in some more moderate rain showers as the low pushes across. Otherwise, most other areas will only see a chance for light rain showers. Temperatures: Not much cold air advection with this low. This will keep temperatures above normal for early October with highs in the mid 60s to mid 70s. Impacts: Blowing dust will be a concern across the basin on Saturday. Isolated power outages will also be possible, especially through the Okanogan Valley and from the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Areas and points northward that are more exposed to stronger northerly winds. Burn scars in the Cascade Mtns will need to be monitored Friday night for heavier shower activity that may result in enhanced runoff; this is more of a secondary threat as confidence is low that we will see the kind of rain rates needed for the potential of flooding in or near burn scars. /SVH Sunday Night through Wednesday: As the weekend low sags south of our area, winds will subside and skies clear for a return to quiet weather for the work week. Models still disagree on how far south the low will sag before it ejects to the east. But even the northern-most solution (GFS) still keeps the threat of precipitation just south of our area. A short wave ridge moves over the area for dry weather Monday through Wednesday. It does appear that this will be short-lived as a typical Pacific front approaches the area Wednesday night and Thursday. RJ && .AVIATION... 06Z TAFS: Mid/high clouds are spreading into the area. The lowest and thickest clouds will be over southeast Washington and the southern Panhandle. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 50 76 48 71 50 68 / 0 10 0 10 20 20 Coeur d'Alene 49 77 47 71 50 67 / 0 10 0 10 20 30 Pullman 45 74 45 70 46 67 / 0 10 10 0 20 30 Lewiston 54 78 53 76 51 70 / 0 10 10 0 10 30 Colville 44 78 46 73 50 71 / 0 0 0 10 20 20 Sandpoint 41 74 43 70 46 64 / 0 10 0 10 30 20 Kellogg 46 76 45 70 45 63 / 0 10 20 10 20 30 Moses Lake 45 80 46 75 50 73 / 0 0 0 0 20 20 Wenatchee 54 80 55 75 54 73 / 0 0 0 10 30 30 Omak 51 83 50 76 52 72 / 0 0 0 10 30 20 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 303 PM PDT WED SEP 30 2015 IDZ001-002-004-WAZ034>038-041>044-012215- NORTHERN PANHANDLE-COEUR D'ALENE AREA-CENTRAL PANHANDLE MOUNTAINS- MOSES LAKE AREA-UPPER COLUMBIA BASIN-SPOKANE AREA- NORTHEAST MOUNTAINS-OKANOGAN HIGHLANDS-WENATCHEE AREA- EAST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES-OKANOGAN VALLEY-WATERVILLE PLATEAU- 303 PM PDT WED SEP 30 2015 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho... Central Washington...East Central Washington...North Central Washington and Northeast Washington. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT Hazardous weather is not expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY Very gusty north and northeast winds will be possible late Friday night and on Saturday associated with a cold front passage. Sustained winds ranging between 15 and 25 mph coupled with gusts up to 40 mph possible. IDZ003-026-027-WAZ031>033-012215- IDAHO PALOUSE-LEWISTON AREA-LEWIS AND SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES- NORTHEAST BLUE MOUNTAINS-LOWER GARFIELD AND ASOTIN COUNTIES- WASHINGTON PALOUSE- 303 PM PDT WED SEP 30 2015 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho... North Central Idaho and Southeast Washington. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON 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.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
This lightning caused complex of wildfires burned 65,587 acres and cost over $34 million dollars to suppress.
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, October 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: 603820.