With the migrating upper level low, the moist boundary layer and cool air aloft lead to conditions prime for funnel formation.
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The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
With the migrating upper level low, the moist boundary layer and cool air aloft lead to conditions prime for funnel formation.
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 4, 9:40 AM PST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 940 AM PST Fri Mar 4 2022 .SYNOPSIS... Drier weather and seasonal temperatures are expected Friday. Saturday will become breezy, with north winds gusting to 25 mph. The beginning of next week will feature stable weather, with average temperatures. && .DISCUSSION... Friday through Sunday: Early this morning satellite imagery is revealing eastern Washington is sitting in between two features. Our 96-hour rain event (roughly) has just about wound down. A few stray showers are pushing east through the Idaho Panhandle and we're expecting to see a fairly dry day across the Inland Northwest. Not to say we're seeing clear skies, because as could be expected with approximately 1 to 3 inches of rain, the boundary layer is quite moist and we're already seeing some low stratus and fog settle in to places like Spokane, Deer Park, and Lewiston. There's a chance other northern valleys in northern and central Idaho settle in with some stratus/fog and northeastern Washington. This time of year our sun angle is much more favorable for mixing earlier in the day, however given the amount of moisture that has fallen and helped soak into the ground, I'm not entirely confident we will mix out as quick as expected. A surface high is developing in Alberta and our upper level low is sagging to the south and east, creating a tight pressure gradient and forcing north winds today and Saturday. Northern valleys like the Okanogan (especially) and Purcell Trench could be breezy today and gusty through Saturday afternoon. The 90th percentile for max wind speed Saturday has 25-30 mph wind down the Okanogan Valley to Moses Lake, and as far as wind gusts go there is about a 20-25 percent probability to see wind gusts to 40 mph. Along with the winds, the atmosphere will be drying out. Taking a look at the 00z KOTX sounding we still had quite a bit of precipitable water and rather steep lapse rates. That was helping those late evening convective showers/graupel showers hold together. However, on the backside of our trough moving to the south, we're filtering in cool, dry air. Boundary layer temperatures will remain on the cool side but a drastic cool down does not look likely. Temperatures should remain near seasonal normal through the weekend, or perhaps just below seasonal normal; highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s and 30s). Skies should become more sunny over the weekend as we erode away some of the boundary layer moisture; the forecast will be dry through the weekend. /Dewey Monday through Friday: Ensembles agree with the ridge flopping over across the Pac NW Monday. Thereafter there are quite a few potential solutions. Previous runs had the GFS ensemble being more aggressive with a trough moving down from Canada. Now however, it seems the EC ensembles have trended with a stronger trough for Tuesday/Wednesday with the GFS & Canadian ensembles just showing it as a quick glancing blow. Thursday and Friday the amplified ridge builds back along the west coast with the Inland northwest seeing north to northwesterly flow. By next weekend the ridge potentially moves inland. Confidence is high in Monday's forecast of temperatures at or slightly above average, which is highs in the mid 40s to lower 50s. Winds will increase in the afternoon with gusts 10 to 20 mph across portions of the Columbia Basin, Palouse and West Plains. Tuesday and Wednesday forecast confidence is low given the discrepancies in the ensembles. The clusters do show lower heights during this period and an unsettled pattern. These days will have the best chance of seeing mountain snow and valley rain or snow. Temperatures will cool, the question is how much? There is a large spread of possibilities. Spokane alone shows high temps potentially being anywhere from 30-45 degrees on Wednesday. Our current forecast is calling for 40, but wouldn't be surprised to see it trend lower. If following the EC ensemble, Wednesday could be very breezy down the Okanogan Valley and Purcell Trench into Spokane and the Columbia Basin. Of course, GFS and Canadian ensemble don't show this. Have increased the winds through the day, but do not have it as strong as what the EFI is showing. The northerly flow will bring in that cooler air, with Thursday morning lows 7 to 10 degrees below average, with lows in the teens to lower 20s. With the north to northwesterly flow Thur and Fri we could still see light precip, but it would be at the crest of the Cascades and extreme eastern WA and the ID Panhandle. Temperatures will remain below average with highs in the 30s to mid 40s and lows in the upper teens and 20s. /Nisbet && .AVIATION... 18Z TAFS: The moistened boundary layer has kept fog and low stratus over northeastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle with LIFR/IFR ceilings namely for Colville, Deer Park, Spokane, Felts Field, Pullman, and Lewiston. Ceilings will lift to VFR over the next few hours. Visibility over GEG has begun to slowly improve, with further improvements expect over the next couple hours. Fog and low stratus will return tonight into tomorrow morning. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 43 27 47 26 47 28 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coeur d'Alene 43 24 45 24 46 26 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 Pullman 41 27 46 26 44 27 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lewiston 48 32 51 31 49 31 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colville 45 22 46 22 46 24 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sandpoint 41 26 41 23 42 24 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 Kellogg 39 23 40 23 41 25 / 20 0 0 0 0 0 Moses Lake 49 29 51 28 51 29 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 48 29 47 28 47 31 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Omak 44 27 44 25 46 27 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Spokane WA 449 AM PST Fri Mar 4 2022 IDZ002>004-051300- Coeur d'Alene Area-Idaho Palouse-Central Panhandle Mountains- 449 AM PST Fri Mar 4 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of North Idaho. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT Runoff from rain and melting snow will cause some rivers and creeks in the Idaho Panhandle to remain high today and the next couple days. A few rivers in the central Panhandle may reach minor flood stage. Rivers and creeks should retreat to below bankful levels later this weekend. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY No hazardous weather is expected at this time. IDZ001-026-027-WAZ031>038-041-043-044-047>049-051300- Northern Panhandle-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- Okanogan Valley-Waterville Plateau-Central Chelan County- Western Chelan County-Western Okanogan County- 449 AM PST Fri Mar 4 2022 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...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY No hazardous weather is expected at this time.
The Spokane radar (KOTX), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:29 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A cold core funnel was spotted near Lewiston Hill by several public sources. The location was estimated based on reports and pictures. It did not impact people or property.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, March 2022
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: 1007880.