Lightning started the Crater Creek Wildfire on August 18.
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.
Lightning started the Crater Creek Wildfire on August 18.
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 18, 8:38 AM PST, 2 hours earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
938 AM PDT Fri Aug 18 2023
.SYNOPSIS...
Breezy dry conditions are expected through Friday raising fire
weather concerns. A cooldown with a push of breezy winds and
possible showers arrives by the weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
...WARM, DRY WINDS WILL RESUME FRIDAY PRODUCING ANOTHER DAY OF
CRITICAL FIRE CONDITIONS...
Today and Tonight: As a dry cold front continues to move through the
region, fire weather concerns continue. While the temperatures
will begin a downward trend to normals, the Inland Northwest will
still be under warm, dry conditions with highs in the 90s and
upper 80s expected. A tightening pressure gradient across the
region will keep winds breezy with sustained in the upper teens
and 20s. Gusts will reach into the 30s. Area ridgetops should
expect stronger gusts into the low 40s mph. Ensembles continue to
push a band of moisture across Southeast WA and Lower ID
Panhandle. It will bring light shower activity to the area.
Iinstability with the band is still weak with less than 20%
probability of Cape higher than 100 Joules. An isolated lightning
strike is possible but confidence is low. As the front exits
overnight, a broad trough will sag over the region. Winds will
calm behind the front.
Saturday and Sunday: The weekend will see a return to season
normal temperatures of 80s and upper 70s. Air quality is still
expected to be an issue as smoke from wildfires continue to filter
into the Inland Northwest. Influence of tropical moisture
associated with Hilary will begin to be seen on Sunday. It will be
increased cloud cover for most of the region. The ID Pahandle has
the best chance of seeing any precip chances by the end of the
weekend. /JDC
Monday through Thursday: Southerly flow will carry moisture from
Hurricane Hilary across Nevada and into South-Central Idaho
through the day on Monday. The outer edge of the moisture will
brush Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, bringing showers and
possible thunderstorms Monday afternoon into Tuesday. Latest
model runs suggest moisture will bleed farther into the Northwest
than what previous runs have shown, thus trending precipitation
and thunderstorm chances upward in our region.
Chances for showers Monday and Tuesday in far Eastern Washington
and the Idaho Panhandle range from 30% to 60% with lower chances
to the northwest and higher chances to the southeast. Thunderstorm
chances are not as impressive (generally less than 15%) and are
confined to the Northern Mountains and southeastern Shoshone
county.
Following the main precip event on Monday and Tuesday, a
progressive pattern with multiple shortwave disturbances passing
through will keep intermittent chances for showers in the forecast
through the end of the week. Expect daytime highs in the 80s and
overnight lows in the 50s and 60s.
The other notable concern of next week is smoke, which is
expected to stick around through at least early next week per the
NASA smoke model. Persistent south-southwest flow will help keep
smoke from British Columbia fires out of the area, but it could
also bring smoke up from fires in Southwest Oregon. How much smoke
we'll see through the middle to end of next week will depend on
how active the Southwest Oregon fires are at that point. /Fewkes
&&
.AVIATION...
18Z TAFs: West winds will peak during the afternoon with
sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph gusting to 30 mph from Wenatchee
to Moses Lake to Spokane and Pullman. Thick smoke from the Crater
Creek fire in British Columbia northwest of Oroville will restrict
surface visibility to 3 miles or less this afternoon and evening
at small airports like Republic, Colville, and Bonners Ferry.
Winds will become calm overnight. Smoke and haze will continue to
filter south into the Columbia Basin. TAF sites can expect smoke
and haze overnight and through the weekend. /Butler
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane 89 53 86 54 88 61 / 0 0 0 0 0 10
Coeur d'Alene 88 50 86 53 88 61 / 0 0 0 0 10 10
Pullman 85 48 85 52 86 57 / 10 0 0 0 10 10
Lewiston 94 60 92 64 92 67 / 20 0 0 0 10 20
Colville 89 43 85 44 90 50 / 0 0 0 0 0 10
Sandpoint 87 47 84 50 86 55 / 0 0 0 0 10 20
Kellogg 84 54 84 58 85 63 / 10 0 0 10 10 20
Moses Lake 89 54 87 57 90 61 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wenatchee 85 59 85 62 90 65 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Omak 90 56 87 58 93 61 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Red Flag Warning from 10 AM this morning to 9 PM PDT this
evening for Northern and Central Idaho Panhandle (Zone 101).
WA...Red Flag Warning from 10 AM this morning to 9 PM PDT this
evening for Colville Reservation (Zone 702)-East Portion of
North Cascades National Park/Lake Chelan National
Recreation Area (Zone 697)-East Washington Central Cascades
(Zone 696)-East Washington North Cascades (Zone 698)-
Eastern Columbia Basin -Palouse -Spokane Area (Zone 708)-
Foothills of Central Washington Cascades (Zone 705)-
Foothills of Northeast Washington (Zone 701)-Lower Palouse
-Snake River (Zone 709)-Methow Valley (Zone 704)-Okanogan
Highlands and Kettle Mountains (Zone 699)-Okanogan Valley
(Zone 703)-Selkirk Mountains of Northeast Washington (Zone
700)-Waterville Plateau (Zone 706)-Western Columbia Basin
(Zone 707).
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Lightning started the Crater Creek Wildfire near the North end of Pasayten Wilderness and Loomis DNR. It burned 5145 acres of timber.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, August 2023
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: 1138822.