A late march melt off of low elevation snow in and around the Columbia Basin produced localized small stream and low spot field flooding which lead to the temporary closure of some area roads.
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The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
A late march melt off of low elevation snow in and around the Columbia Basin produced localized small stream and low spot field flooding which lead to the temporary closure of some area roads.
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 19, 3:33 PM PST, 5 hours 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 433 PM PDT Tue Mar 19 2019 .SYNOPSIS... Dry and mild conditions will continue through Friday. Clouds and the chance for showers will increase late Friday and persist into the weekend. Temperatures over the weekend into early next week will be pretty close to average with most locations climbing into the 50s. && .DISCUSSION... Tonight through Thursday: The high pressure and dry conditions will continue for this period. No major weather impacts are expected. This will be the warmest stretch of days for the year so far as highs creep up into the upper 50s and low 60s for the region. The lows will be in the near freezing range. The warmer temps are expected to melt low land snow and create rises on area small streams and creeks. As of now, any rises are expected to be below action stage. Friday: The omega block that was over region will shift East as a shortwave trough presses into the region from the West. The models are fairly consistent with the the timing of the system. The areas of precip differ. The GFS is brining showers over the Cascades by Friday afternoon, while the ECMWF is keeping the precip out the Inland Northwest until later in the evening. Increasing cloud cover will keep the highs a few degrees cooler then the previous days highs with most locations reaching into the 50s. /JDC Friday Night through Sunday: Precipitation chances will be increasing Friday night into Saturday as a weak low pressure trough moves inland. Rain amounts this weekend look to be light and showery. Forcing with the weak trough is not impressive. The best forcing associated with the upper level jet is expected to be over central California and the Great Basin. Ensemble mean precipitation amounts suggest a tenth or two across the Idaho Panhandle and mountains of northeast Washington with lesser amounts across the Columbia Basin, Palouse and West Plains. Light rain amounts are good news. So far, the melt of our late season snow across the lowlands has been gradual with minimal impacts. At this time, the rain expected this weekend will not make any significant contribution to snow that is melting. Monday and Tuesday: Our forecast for Monday remains dry under the influence of a short-lived high pressure ridge. There is a good chance that showery weather will return Monday night into Tuesday as a large upper low settles off the coast. We will be watching moisture wrapping around this large upper low closely. At this time, it looks like the most significant rains will be focused over California. Temperatures early next week look to be at or slightly above average. By early next week, a good deal of the snow across the Palouse, Spokane area, and Upper Columbia Basin will be melted. And at this time, the pattern early next week isn't raising any red flags for excessive rain. /GKoch && .HYDROLOGY... So far the melting of our lowland snowpack has been gradual with warm days, light winds, and chilly nights. Some of our creeks and streams are starting to respond to runoff with small to moderate rises. Streams fed by runoff from the Palouse are often first to respond and we are seeing some rises on Hangman Creek (south of Spokane), Paradise Creek (Moscow), and the Palouse River near Potlatch. Since these creeks were running lower than normal last week, there has been ample capacity for the increased runoff. We expect more water to enter creeks and small streams over the next 36 to 48 hours as lowland snow over the Palouse and West Plains ripens and the rate of snowmelt increases. Some minor field flooding may occur across the Palouse which is a fairly frequent occurrence late in the winter. So far, we haven't seen gauges rise in far north Idaho, northeast Washington or along the Cascades. It may take more time for the deeper snow at higher elevations to ripen, melt and enter our creeks and streams. The Hydrologic Outlook on our web page was allowed to expire this morning. It served its purpose raising awareness of potential hydrologic hazards as our lowland snow melts. If any specific flooding hazards develop in upcoming days, advisories or warnings will be issued to highlight the impacts. Overall, this dry weather pattern is just what we needed to begin releasing runoff without causing flooding. At this time, we don't see any big rain events coming the next 7 to 10 days which is also good news. /GKoch && .AVIATION... 00Z TAFS: VFR conditions with clear skies and light winds is expected for at least the next 24 hours. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 31 61 31 61 31 59 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coeur d'Alene 32 62 33 62 30 57 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pullman 30 59 31 59 31 57 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lewiston 34 65 35 63 33 61 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colville 29 63 30 62 29 59 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sandpoint 34 61 34 62 32 57 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kellogg 33 61 34 63 32 57 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moses Lake 30 64 34 63 34 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 33 57 34 58 35 56 / 0 0 0 0 0 10 Omak 34 61 35 61 34 58 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Spokane WA 557 AM PDT Tue Mar 19 2019 IDZ001>004-026-027-WAZ031>038-041>044-201300- 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- 557 AM PDT Tue Mar 19 2019 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...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY No hazardous weather is expected at this time.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A section of RD 19-NW near Soap Lake was temporarily closed due to snow melt flooding.
Snow melt caused a portion of State Route 25 to close due to water and blocks of unmelted snow transported by the flooding over the roadway.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, March 2019
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: 810778, 810777.