A trough pushed through the region bringing widespread isolated thunderstorms and strong winds. The storms brought lightning and hail up to nickel sizes to portions of the Eastern Washington.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 trough pushed through the region bringing widespread isolated thunderstorms and strong winds. The storms brought lightning and hail up to nickel sizes to portions of the Eastern Washington. Winds across the Basin ranged from upper 30s to 60 MPH. Power outages were the main impact from the system.
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 3, 4:31 AM PST, 5 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
531 AM PDT Mon Jun 3 2024
.SYNOPSIS...
A vigorous cold front will seep across the Inland Northwest today.
Thunderstorms will be possible along the front this morning into
the afternoon. This will be followed by windy conditions
regionwide. Wind gusts may become strong, especially late this
morning into the afternoon. A weaker weather system on Tuesday
will keep winds breezy and bring additional light showers. A
significant warming trend will then commence mid week into the
weekend. Very warm temperatures in the mid 80s to mid 90s is
expected Friday into the weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
...MORNING AND AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS AND WINDY CONDITIONS TODAY...
Today into Tonight: Strong cold front passage today! Water vapor
satellite imagery early this morning at 2:30 AM shows a vigorous
shortwave trough of lower pressure pushing into the Northwest with a
150-160 kt jet streak diving down on the backside of the shortwave.
The upper level jet is rounding the trough and being directed across
northern Oregon and up across extreme southeast Washington into the
southern and central Idaho Panhandle. The shortwave trough will push
across with a negative tilt, favor left exit region of the jet
streak, and strong positive vorticity advection across the Inland
Northwest: all indicative for strong vertical upward motion on the
synoptic scale this morning into this afternoon. At lower levels, a
cold front will sweep across the region crossing the Cascades within
the next 3-6 hours (5-8 AM) and into the Idaho Panhandle by 11AM-1PM
later today. This is a strong cold front with strong lift along the
front congruent with the lift being supplied aloft. Water vapor
satellite imagery also shows a good drying aloft indicative of a dry
slot and subsidence behind the cold front about to move into the
coastal locations of Washington.
We will continue to see precipitation within the warm sector of this
weather system. The Atmospheric River will mainly be directed south
of the region through the rest of the day. The PWat plume also looks
to weaken as it migrates south as well. Another inch or so of
precipitation is anticipated along the Cascade crest with an
additional 0.25-0.75 inches of rain expected over the Idaho
Panhandle. Much of the higher end of this additional rainfall over
the Idaho Panhandle will be spotty and generally reserved for
windward westerly aspects. Lee side locations will see downsloping
and this will cut into the amount of rainfall that is observed: this
includes areas such as Bonners Ferry, Silver Valley, and Lewiston-
Clarkston Valley to the Camas Prairie. There hasn't much of a
response to creeks and small streams with the rain that has fallen
already, and I don't expect much if any impacts from rain moving
forward. The Flood Watch for Shoshone County and Lewis County has
been cancelled. There will be the possibility for minor rock slides,
but even this risk looks to be on the low side.
Snow levels dropping over the Cascades will result in a transition
to snow above 4500 feet. Expect light snow over Washington Pass with
2-4 inches expected.
The primary impacts expected moving forward will be (1) strong winds
and (2) convection along the cold front.
* Winds: Widespread winds of 20-30 mph with gusts of 40-50 mph is
expected today across much of the region. Exposed areas in the lee
of the Cascades, across the basin, Spokane/Coeur d'Alene areas,
Palouse, Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, Camas Prairie, and lower
Asotin and Garfield County are expected to see the higher end of
these winds with sustained speeds more in the range of 25-30 and
gusts 45-50. There is also potential for isolated areas with
sustained wind speeds of 35 mph with gusts of 50-60 mph on the
Waterville Plateau, and from the Northeast Blue Mountains down
onto the southern portion of the Palouse. These stronger winds
will more likely come with the cold front passage late this
morning into the early afternoon. There is also the potential for
mountain wave activity to draw down stronger wind gusts in the lee
of the Cascades through the afternoon into the early evening as
the jet aloft migrates north over this area.
* Thunderstorms: Convective Allowing Models (a.k.a. CAMs) have
consistently shown convection developing along the cold front.
The focus for convection looks to be from the Moses Lake Area
to the Okanogan Valley/Highlands starting around 800 AM this
morning. Then pushing eastward very quickly through the morning
reaching Spokane/Coeur d'Alene and Colville/Chewelah as early as
900 AM - 1000 AM; and then into the Idaho Panhandle by 1100 AM
into the early afternoon. Chances for thunderstorms across these
areas is between 20-30%. Isolated thunderstorms will also be
possible further south along the front with a 15% chance for
places like Lewiston and Pullman/Moscow. Instability will be a
limiting factor, but strong dynamics should be enough to
overcome this limitation. Convection will be moving quickly, and
will feature the potential for strong downdraft winds, along
with infrequent lightning strikes. There will be about 40-50 kts
of 0-6 km of bulk shear to go along with 200-500 J/kg of
surface based CAPE. This may be enough for organization.
* Impacts: There is a moderate risk for impacts to life and
property due to winds today. Thunderstorms will be capable of
producing strong downdraft winds today, particularly with
morning convection along the cold front. How impactful
thunderstorms become will be dependent on available CAPE. There
may not be enough energy for thunderstorms to become strong and
organize, but shear profiles are there and the cold front will
supply amble lift. It won't take much for strong winds to mix
down to cause damage. Winds on the synoptic scale along and
behind the front today will be enough for the risk of moderate
wind impacts as well. Isolated tree damage and scattered power
outages will be possible. Strong cross winds will make driving
very difficult, particularly for high profile vehicles.
Tuesday and Tuesday night: A second punch of moisture will move
across the region with a an occluded front. The parent low for this
system will be well off to the northwest moving into northern BC off
of the Gulf of Alaska. This will result in much weaker dynamics with
precipitation having a harder time being squeezed out. Precipitation
will be light with accumulations mostly reserved for the
mountains. A hundredth at best can be expected for locations out
in the basin. Winds will continue to be breezy, but not to the
level of what is expected today. Wind speeds on Tuesday are
expected to be on the order of 20-25 mph with gusts of 30-40 mph
possible. /SVH
Wednesday through Sunday: Amplifying ridge of high pressure allows
for a warming and drying trend with temperatures peaking Saturday.
As early as Friday, but maxing out Saturday, the warmer/hot
temperatures allow NWS Heat Risk to increase to moderate level
(impacting most individuals sensitive to heat, especially those
without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration). The ridge
moves to the east Sunday and the resulting upper level southwest
flow looks moist enough to allow for clouds to invade the sky from
west to east and and a slight chance mention of showers and
thunderstorms along with slightly cooler temps and increased wind
and possible gusts, which would also include outflow from any
showers or thunderstorms that form. /Pelatti
&&
.AVIATION...
12Z TAFS: A vigorous cold front will push east of the Cascades
around 14Z this morning. Periods of moderate to heavy rain is
expected ahead of the front at KLWS and KPUW with visibility
dropping down to between 1-3 SM with IFR conditions through 14Z.
Otherwise, mainly MVFR conditions this morning with rain
moistening up the boundary layer. Convection is expected to
develop along the cold front and may become organized from KMWH to
KCOE and points northward. Low topped thunderstorms up to around
23-25 kft will bring the risk for strong outflow winds primarily
to KGEG-KSFF-KCOE-KCQV-KDEW-KSZT between 15-20Z with thunderstorms
moving quickly to the east at 30-40 kts. Convection will be
capable of producing wind gusts up to 45-50 kts at these
airports. Post frontal winds of 20-30 kts with gusts up 35-45 kts
will continue through the afternoon into the early evening before
the pressure gradient relaxes overnight with the arrival of a
weaker frontal system.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Visibility and
ceilings will vary at Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, and Pullman as
conditions change during light to moderate and at times heavy
rain through 15z. Once the cold front passes, strong west winds
will sweep low clouds out of our airports. Confidence is low that
thunderstorms will impact airports today with a 25% chance at
KGEG-KSFF-KCOE-KCQV-KDEW-KSZT airports. /SVH
-----------------------
Confidence descriptors:
Low - Less than a 30 percent chance
Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance
High - Greater than a 70 percent chance
For additional probabilistic information for NWS Spokane airports,
please refer to the Aviation Dashboard on our webpage:
https:/www.weather.gov/otx/avndashboard
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane 61 43 66 42 70 45 / 100 0 30 0 0 0
Coeur d'Alene 58 41 62 44 68 45 / 100 10 50 10 0 0
Pullman 57 41 61 44 67 45 / 100 10 40 10 0 0
Lewiston 67 49 72 53 77 52 / 100 10 30 10 0 0
Colville 61 35 63 35 70 39 / 90 10 50 10 0 0
Sandpoint 56 40 58 41 66 42 / 100 30 70 40 0 0
Kellogg 55 43 57 46 66 46 / 100 20 70 40 0 0
Moses Lake 68 48 74 44 76 47 / 60 10 10 0 0 0
Wenatchee 63 48 68 46 75 50 / 60 20 20 0 0 0
Omak 68 44 73 42 75 46 / 80 10 20 0 0 0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Wind Advisory from 9 AM this morning to 7 PM PDT this evening
for Northern Panhandle.
Wind Advisory from 8 AM this morning to 11 PM PDT this evening
for Central Panhandle Mountains-Coeur d'Alene Area-Idaho
Palouse-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties-Lewiston Area.
WA...Wind Advisory from 9 AM this morning to 7 PM PDT this evening
for Northeast Mountains.
Wind Advisory from 8 AM this morning to 11 PM PDT this evening
for Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake Area-
Northeast Blue Mountains-Spokane Area-Upper Columbia Basin-
Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau-Wenatchee Area.
&&The Spokane radar (KOTX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 18:03 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Several trees at the fairgrounds suffered significant damage. Time estimated. A nearby sensor recorded a max gust of 42 MPH.
Downed trees blocking SB lane of US 395 near Orin Rice Road. A sensor recorded a max gust of 21 MPH around the time of report.
Utility company reported weather related power outage affecting 760 customers. A max wind gust of 26 MPH was recorded around the time.
Washington DOT reported downed trees blocking both lanes on SR 26. A max gust of 42 MPH was recorded.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, June 2024
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: 1194976, 1194978, 1194981, 1194983.