A strong atmospheric river moved through the region on February 23-25. Many locations across the Lower Idaho Panhandle received rain amounts 1 to 2 inches over the period.
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 strong atmospheric river moved through the region on February 23-25. Many locations across the Lower Idaho Panhandle received rain amounts 1 to 2 inches over the period. The rain combined with snow melt in the area leading to several reports of flooding around Worley, Moscow, and Plummer areas. The Palouse River near Potlatch crested at 17.22 feet. The Paradise Creek in Moscow crested at 11.21 feet.
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 Feb 23, 4:11 AM PST, 5 hours 49 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 411 AM PST Sun Feb 23 2025 .SYNOPSIS... Rain will arrive this weekend as high temperatures warm into the 40s and low 50s. Runoff from rain and melting snow will lead to increased flow and minor flooding across southeast Washington and the central and southern Idaho Panhandle. Another weather system Monday into Tuesday will bring more rain and stronger winds. && .DISCUSSION... Today and Tonight: A pair of moisture-laden shortwaves will produce widespread precipitation in the next 24 hours. The first will be exiting the Idaho Panhandle around sunrise this morning. We are closely monitoring rain amounts through the early morning hours and the response of Paradise Creek running through Moscow, Idaho as it is forecast to climb above flood stage prior to daybreak. The second shortwave will deliver another round of widespread rain late in the day and into the evening as this disturbance shoves a warm front across Washington and north Idaho. The plume of moisture directed into the Pacific Northwest has sufficient Integrated Water Vapor Transport (IVT) to be classified as a "moderate" strength atmospheric river. The precipitation delivered to the region combined with runoff from melting snow will not only produce rises on Paradise Creek and the Palouse River, but other small streams across the eastern third of Washington and the Idaho Panhandle will experience rises. There will also be a heightened risk of field flooding and rock slides in the steep terrain of north Idaho. Areal Flood Watches have been replace with Areal Flood Warnings for Whitman, Latah, and Benewah counties with the expectation of of an additional three-quarters to inch an a half of rain Sunday morning through Sunday night. This is on top of 1 to 3 inches of snow water equivalent across much of Latah and Benewah counties. Areal Flood Advisories are now in effect for the north Idaho Panhandle, Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area, the Central Idaho Panhandle, the L-C Valley, and Lewis county Idaho. Monday and Tuesday: Our final round of widespread rain will occur Monday afternoon into Tuesday as a vigorous low pressure system drives into northwest Washington and southern British Columbia. The easterly flow ahead of this low will likely be sufficient to drive snow levels down to the floor of the Methow Valley Monday night. A couple inches of wet snow accumulation will be possible overnight into early Tuesday morning before west winds increase and scrub the cooler air from the valley east of the Cascade Crest. The National Blend of Models (NBM) gives Stevens Pass a 60 percent chance of a foot or more of snow accumulation Monday into Tuesday. For north Idaho, snow levels aren't expected to fall below 4000 feet until the passage of the cold front Tuesday morning. The NBM generates a 50 percent chance of 6 inches of accumulation Tuesday into Tuesday night. With much of that snow occurring during the day Tuesday with temps in the 30s, low accumulation efficiency may limit the impact at Lookout Pass. Post cold front winds on Tuesday will have the potential to be a more significant impact. The ECMWF ensembles produce average maximum wind gusts of 40 to 45 mph for the eastern third of Washington and adjacent portions of north Idaho including Spokane, Pullman and wind prone areas near Coeur d'Alene. We will be keeping a close eye on Tuesday for the potential for future Wind Advisories. /GKoch Wednesday through Sunday: Above average temperatures in the 40s and 50s continue through the end of the week as upper level height rises dominate the period. A weak wave on the northwest branch of the ridge in SW BC will bring the chance (30-50%) for high elevation snow (above 4000 feet) and valley rain to the Cascades and ID Panhandle Thursday. A second ridge forms offshore Thursday night and shifts into the Inland NW Friday, so most of the day Friday will be dry. As the ridge axis shifts east in western Montana Friday night, precipitation chances increase thanks to a low pressure headed toward the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska. A deep subtropical moisture plume will be aimed at Washington. The north-south orientation of the plume suggests this will not be a very long winded event, but precipitation chances continue through late next weekend. Snow levels will be around 4500-5500 feet through the event. Not anticipating a significant hydrologic event from this late week system. /Butler && .AVIATION... 12Z TAFS: Rounds of rain will impact the Inland NW over the next 24 hours. One round shifts out early in the TAF period, but additional rain develops overnight into early Sunday, followed by a brief lull before another round develops later Sunday PM. Look for MVFR conditions, with periodic IFR conditions possible with fog/stratus between those rounds of rain. Additionally wind shear is expected as the atmosphere remains mixed, until this afternoon to evening when some gusty winds are possible, especially at KPUW. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Moderate confidence in timing and location of upcoming precipitation. Ceilings expected to degrade to MVFR with lower confidence for IFR overnight. Moderate to low confidence of wind shear values being greater than 30 knots difference. Timing confidence in LLWS shear vs gusty winds making it to the surface is low. ----------------------- Confidence descriptors: Low - Less than a 30 percent chance Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance High - Greater than a 70 percent chance && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Spokane 49 36 49 39 47 33 / 90 100 50 90 40 30 Coeur d'Alene 47 35 48 36 45 31 / 100 100 30 100 60 50 Pullman 49 37 46 37 45 31 / 100 100 60 100 50 50 Lewiston 53 39 52 40 52 34 / 90 100 40 90 40 40 Colville 46 30 45 35 45 29 / 40 100 40 100 40 30 Sandpoint 43 35 45 37 43 32 / 100 100 30 100 80 70 Kellogg 45 37 47 37 40 33 / 100 100 40 100 80 80 Moses Lake 52 34 49 37 54 31 / 60 60 70 50 10 0 Wenatchee 46 33 42 35 47 32 / 50 60 80 70 30 10 Omak 45 31 44 35 47 31 / 20 90 60 90 20 10 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... ID...None. WA...None. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Water over roadway at Maple Avenue and Riverside Harbor Drive was reported.
Several road closures were reported due to flooding. Perimeter Drive closed between Pullman Road and 6th Street Stadium Drive due to flooding between Pullman Rd. and 6th St. are closed due to high water. Third St and Roosevelt closed due to flooding. The intersection of Bridge and Hillcrest closed due to flooding. Field flooding at Mountain View Park.
State Highway 58 near US -95 was closed due to flooding.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, February 2025
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: 1239856, 1239846, 1239859.