A cold front moved through the region bringing strong winds to Eastern Washington. It brought widespread sustained winds in the 20s and gusts into the upper 40 to upper 50 MPH range.
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The episode as NWS OTX wrote it up.
A cold front moved through the region bringing strong winds to Eastern Washington. It brought widespread sustained winds in the 20s and gusts into the upper 40 to upper 50 MPH range. Strongest winds were over Southeast Washington. No major impacts were reported. Patchy blowing dusts and small limbs down were the main impact.
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 Oct 4, 1:43 PM PST, 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
243 PM PDT Fri Oct 4 2024
.SYNOPSIS...
Cooler, dry weather expected behind the earlier cold front.
Pockets of frost are possible overnight with areas seeing
temperatures near freezing. A more tranquil weather pattern is
expected this weekend and most of next week as high pressure
builds into the Pacific Northwest.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Tonight through Saturday: The cold front will continue to move
through North Idaho before exiting into Montana by 7PM PDT. A ridge
pattern will begin to build in to the Pacific Northwest. It will
lead to decreasing winds and clearing skies through the night.
Overnight lows dip with the cooler air behind the cold front. The
lows will be in the 30s and low 40s. Some pockets of frost are
possible in the northern valleys and Basin. For Saturday, the ridge
will continue to develop in the region and bring dry, calm
conditions for the day. Highs will be in the 60s and low 70s. /JDC
Saturday through Tuesday: Models are in strong agreement with a
strong ridge of high pressure forming in the inner mountain west
this weekend in response to a deepening low over the Aleutian
islands. Daytime temperatures will be right around normal (60s)
Saturday, but by Monday, temperatures will climb in the 70s (5-10F
above normal). Expect strong overnight inversions with light winds
forecasted and episodes of frost in the cold-prone northeast
valleys. Another Aleutian low late next week looks to form but the
position has significant weather impacts for us (ex: 20% of the
ensemble has an atmospheric river centered in the Pacific
Northwest by Friday of next week, while the other 80% of models
are mostly dry and stay as warm as the mid-week forecast). /Butler
&&
.AVIATION...
18Z TAFS: The cold front is beginning to press into the Cascades.
Cloud coverage is increasing over the Cascades and Western Columbia
Basin. It will produce a narrow band of rain, gusty west winds, and
a good chance for visibility reductions from blowing dust. Peak
winds and the best chance for dust should be along and behind the
cold front which is progged by the HREF to reach Moses Lake at 20z,
Spokane at 21z, and Pullman/Coeur d'Alene around 22z. Localized
visibility reductions to a mile or less have occurred in
agricultural areas between Moses Lake, Spokane and Pullman during
recent rain events with 2 to 5 mile visibilities for TAF sites down
wind of dust sources. he highest gust potential will be in the
Pullman and Lewiston areas today with west winds briefly between 30-
40kts along and behind the front.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Forecasting dust
is tough, but it looks like a 25 percent chance that visibility
reductions won't occur. Precipitation amounts from the 75th
percentile of National Blend of Models (approaching a tenth of an
inch in dryland wheat country) would be sufficient to minimize
blowing dust. /JDC
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane 38 62 38 72 41 74 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Coeur d'Alene 38 61 39 71 42 72 / 40 10 0 0 0 0
Pullman 40 62 42 70 42 74 / 20 0 0 0 0 0
Lewiston 45 70 46 79 49 78 / 20 0 0 0 0 0
Colville 29 62 32 70 31 73 / 20 0 0 0 0 0
Sandpoint 38 59 38 68 37 69 / 60 10 0 0 0 0
Kellogg 42 60 44 71 47 71 / 80 20 0 0 0 0
Moses Lake 38 67 39 71 39 74 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wenatchee 46 68 45 71 47 73 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Omak 39 67 43 72 42 73 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Wind Advisory until 7 PM PDT this evening for Idaho Palouse-
Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties-Lewiston Area.
WA...Red Flag Warning until 6 PM PDT this evening for Eastern
Columbia Basin -Palouse -Spokane Area (Zone 708)-Lower
Palouse -Snake River (Zone 709).
Wind Advisory until 7 PM PDT this evening for Lower Garfield and
Asotin Counties-Northeast Blue Mountains-Washington Palouse.
Blowing Dust Advisory until 7 PM PDT this evening for Moses Lake
Area-Spokane Area-Upper Columbia Basin-Waterville Plateau.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Station at Alder measured 57 MPH.
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, October 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: 1221747.