A weak cold front passing through the Pacific Northwest brought mostly dry and windy conditions across the Idaho Panhandle on June 24th. By mid-day, isolated showers and thunderstorms moved into the northern Idaho Panhandle.
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.
A weak cold front passing through the Pacific Northwest brought mostly dry and windy conditions across the Idaho Panhandle on June 24th. By mid-day, isolated showers and thunderstorms moved into the northern Idaho Panhandle. With afternoon convection, there were numerous strong thunderstorm cells forming in Bonner and Boundary counties. These thunderstorms brought gusty winds, brief heavy downpours, and produced isolated hail. There were reports of hail sizing from 0.25 to 1.5 inches in diameter. With the hail, some locations received an additional rainfall up to 1 inch that afternoon. The winds, with gusts up to 55 mph, resulted in trees down, power outages, and rough lake conditions, especially at Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake. Other locations within the Idaho Panhandle, only received a trace to 0.03 inch of rain. There were widespread winds with gusts reaching 25-40 mph.
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 24, 1:42 PM PST, 48 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 242 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 .SYNOPSIS... Scattered thunderstorms will continue this afternoon into early evening. Some storms will produce severe conditions including larger hail, heavy rain, lightning and wind gusts to 45 mph over north Idaho as well as north central and northeast Washington this afternoon. Thursday and Friday will be dry, with temperatures well above average. The arrival of a strong cold front late Friday will bring in cooler temperatures, breezy winds, showers and the chance for thunderstorms this weekend. The weekend into the beginning of next week have the potential to be significantly cooler than average. Some drying and warming is expected by middle of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Remainder of Afternoon into Evening: Clusters of strong thunderstorms north of the Spokane area will continue their march eastward in the 3 PM to 6 PM time frame. Surface dewpoints in the upper 50s to near 60 are on the high end of what we see in the Inland Northwest. As of 230 PM, these storms have been impressive on radar with hail algorithm output of 2 inches or more at times. Torrential rain and frequent cloud to ground lightning have also accompanied these storms as the move between 20 and 30 mph to the east, northeast. The RAP and HRRR are a pair of rapid update high resolution models that have resolved this convection and a few of their runs have developed storms as far south as Spokane and Coeur d'Alene in the 4 PM to 6 PM time frame so the chance for late afternoon thunderstorms has been added to the metro. It is tough to say whether cells will be as strong in the metro if the indeed develop over the city. Marginally lower dewpoints are on our doorstep and our environment does not feature as much CAPE as the environment around Colville, Sandpoint, and Bonners Ferry where dewpoints are pushing low 60s. Overnight: By mid evening, our weather will be much less volatile as drier post frontal air continues to filter into the region. Overnight lows will be several degrees cooler than they were last night with mid to upper 50s common under clearing skies. Thursday: A flat high pressure ridge will return Thursday bringing drier, more stable conditions to the region. Despite the passage of a cold front today, temperatures won't be significantly impacted Thursday with highs in the 80s. Low 90s will be likely in the Moses Lake, Wenatchee, and Omak areas. Friday: Central Washington into the Columbia Basin will be quite hot on Friday with high temperatures climbing into the low to mid 90s. Mid 80s to near 90 will be common across the lowlands of north Idaho and the eastern third of Washington. These temps are similar to what we experienced on Tuesday. The arrival of a cold front late in the afternoon and evening will cause increasing west winds that will peak early in the evening in central Washington. Places like Wenatchee, Vantage, Ellensburg, and Waterville will likely experience sustained 20 mph winds with gusts to 30 mph or more. The hot air, gusty winds and marginally dry humidity will raise concerns for grass fires in our drought areas of central Washington. A continuation of winds on Saturday could be problematic if a fire gets going in the wrong spot Friday evening. /GKoch Saturday: It will be a breezy to windy day between the east slopes to the Cascades to south and east Washington as cool air continues to spill into the region after the cold front. Sustained winds 20 mph gusting to 35 mph could be the normal for the day and evening before letting up overnight into Sunday. The air will be very dry as well limiting showers mainly to the mountains. Although it will be about 10 degrees cooler (upper 70s and 80s), elevated grass fire potential will still be a concern with the dry air, wind and near seasonal temperatures. Sunday and Monday: At this time the cool weather system is anticipated to linger in the area for couple of days so the forecast is for much below seasonal temperatures, continued showers and an isolated thunderstorm in the afternoons. This would be similar to conditions in the middle of June but not quite as cool. Winds will be a bit lighter in the the 10 to 15 mph range. Tuesday and Wednesday: There is some guidance that wants to finally move the cool weather system out only to replace with weak northwesterly flow and maybe some waves moving through out of the northwest. For the south and west part of eastern Washington (Central Basin) it would be mainly dry but higher terrain areas will keep a shower mention into the middle of next week. In some form or another there is a weakness in the flow pattern or low pressure system still along and north of the Canadian border with no clear sign of a strong warming and drying trend. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAFS: By noon scattered showers are expected to develop over far north Idaho and northeast/north central Washington. The high resolution models aren't forecasting a high concentration of thunderstorm activity, but a few cells could be strong given rich surface dewpoints and relatively steep mid-level lapse rates. Some of the stronger cells will be capable of producing nickel hail, brief heavy rain, and wind gusts to 45 mph in the Republic, Colville, Northport, Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, and Kellogg areas. At this point, probabilities for thunderstorms in Spokane, Couer d'Alene, Pullman, and Lewiston is less than 30 percent and not included in the TAFs. They may be added as we watch radar and satellite trends this afternoon. /GKoch && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 56 84 59 89 62 80 / 10 0 0 0 0 10 Coeur d'Alene 55 81 58 86 61 78 / 20 0 0 0 0 10 Pullman 53 80 57 86 61 77 / 10 0 0 0 0 10 Lewiston 61 87 63 93 67 84 / 10 0 0 0 0 10 Colville 53 86 57 90 59 82 / 20 0 0 0 10 20 Sandpoint 55 81 58 85 61 77 / 40 0 0 0 10 20 Kellogg 56 79 59 83 62 75 / 30 0 0 0 10 30 Moses Lake 60 93 61 97 64 87 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 60 92 63 94 66 82 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Omak 59 90 62 93 62 83 / 10 0 0 0 0 10 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Spokane WA 208 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 WAZ034-035-041>044-252115- Moses Lake Area-Upper Columbia Basin-Wenatchee Area- East Slopes Northern Cascades-Okanogan Valley-Waterville Plateau- 208 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of Central Washington...East Central Washington and North Central Washington. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. Breezy conditions will continue this evening. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY Friday and Saturday dry, warm and breezy conditions are expected in Central Washington which may elevate concern for fire spread in dry grass. IDZ001-002-004-WAZ036>038-252115- Northern Panhandle-Coeur d'Alene Area-Central Panhandle Mountains- Spokane Area-Northeast Mountains-Okanogan Highlands- 208 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho... North Central Washington and Northeast Washington. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT No hazardous weather is expected at this time. This afternoon and evening a chance of thunderstorms is forecast over the northern Washington mountains into the Idaho Panhandle. Some storms will be capable of producing nickel sized hail lightning and downpours, and gusty winds. Isolated storms in the northest mountains will be capable of golfball sized hail. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY Saturday to Monday a threat of isolated to scattered thunderstorms will bring the threat of lightning and gusty winds as well as small hail and heavy downpours. IDZ003-026-027-WAZ031>033-252115- Idaho Palouse-Lewiston Area-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties- Northeast Blue Mountains-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties- Washington Palouse- 208 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 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 Saturday to Monday a threat of isolated to scattered thunderstorms will bring the threat of lightning and gusty winds as well as small hail and heavy downpours.
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Spokane WA 246 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 IDZ001-242230- Northern Panhandle ID- 246 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN BONNER AND NORTHWESTERN BOUNDARY COUNTIES UNTIL 330 PM PDT... At 245 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 14 miles north of Nordman, or 26 miles west of Bonners Ferry, moving east at 20 mph. Nickel size hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with this storm. This storm will remain over mainly rural areas of northwestern Bonner and northwestern Boundary Counties. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service. && LAT...LON 4875 11698 4890 11695 4894 11647 4875 11650 TIME...MOT...LOC 2145Z 267DEG 18KT 4884 11685 SB
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
301 PM PDT WED JUN 24 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0238 PM HAIL 12 ESE METALINE FALLS 48.80N 117.13W
06/24/2020 M0.75 INCH PEND OREILLE WA TRAINED SPOTTER
&&Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Spokane WA 315 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 WAZ037-038-242300- Northeast Mountains WA-Okanogan Highlands WA- 315 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL STEVENS AND EAST CENTRAL FERRY COUNTIES UNTIL 400 PM PDT... At 315 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 22 miles southwest of Colville, or 57 miles northwest of Spokane, moving northeast at 30 mph. Pea size hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... Gifford, Orin, Arden, Inchelium and Addy. LAT...LON 4824 11833 4829 11835 4852 11789 4830 11780 TIME...MOT...LOC 2215Z 243DEG 26KT 4830 11823 SB
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
320 PM PDT WED JUN 24 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0235 PM HAIL 5 ESE PORTHILL 48.96N 116.41W
06/24/2020 M1.00 INCH BOUNDARY ID PUBLIC
&&Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Spokane WA
322 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020
IDZ001-WAZ037-242300-
Northern Panhandle ID-Northeast Mountains WA-
322 PM PDT Wed Jun 24 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN BONNER...SOUTH
CENTRAL BOUNDARY AND EAST CENTRAL PEND OREILLE COUNTIES UNTIL 400 PM
PDT...
At 320 PM PDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
the Pend Oreille and Bonner County border near Nordman to 20 miles
north of Newport. Movement was east at 25 mph.
Penny size hail and wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph will be possible with
these storms.
Locations impacted include...
Priest Lake, Nordman, Beaver Creek Campground and Coolin.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
These storms may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
If on or near Priest Lake, get out of the water and move indoors or
inside a vehicle. Remember, lightning can strike out to 10 miles
from the parent thunderstorm. If you can hear thunder, you are close
enough to be struck by lightning. Move to safe shelter now! Do not
be caught on the water in a thunderstorm.
Persons in campgrounds should consider seeking sturdy shelter until
these storms pass.
&&
LAT...LON 4879 11658 4861 11655 4840 11671 4846 11714
4859 11708 4875 11707
TIME...MOT...LOC 2220Z 267DEG 23KT 4875 11702 4860 11700 4848 11708
SBPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
327 PM PDT WED JUN 24 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0245 PM HAIL 5 SE DOVER 48.20N 116.54W
06/24/2020 E0.88 INCH BONNER ID PUBLIC
&&The Spokane radar (KOTX), 114 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:29 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Idaho Panhandle Forest Service reported multiple trees down in the Grand View area along Priest Lake due to thunderstorm winds.
A member of the public reported trees down and a power line down due to strong winds ahead of a thunderstorm near Moyie Springs.
A member of the public reported downed trees on power lines across Elmira Road due to thunderstorm winds. Time of report was estimated based on radar.
A county sheriff reported tree damage and power outages due to thunderstorm winds in Clark Fork.
A member of the public reported hail with a diameter of 1.25 inches due to a passing thunderstorm near Kootenai.
A trained spotter reported hail with a diameter of 1 inch and heavy hain with a passing thunderstorm near Elmira.
Pictures posted on social media showed hail with an estimated diameter of 1 inch near Priest Lake. Time is estimated based on radar.
The broadcast media reported that a 21 foot boat with 10 people capsized on Lake Pend Oreille with 1 fatality. There were high waves due to a passing thunderstorm with an estimated 30 mph wind gusts.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind, Bonner | 2020-06-24 | Boating | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, June 2020
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: 905972, 905948, 905936, 905944, 906005, 905975, 905994, 906034.