The dry cold front moved through the region during the afternoon and early evening hours. Wind speeds were in the teens with gusts up to 30 MPH being reported.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
The dry cold front moved through the region during the afternoon and early evening hours. Wind speeds were in the teens with gusts up to 30 MPH being reported. The Basin was experiencing a prolonged period of lack of precip. It led to blowing dust reducing visibility and an auto accident along interstate 90. It also caused tree damage and power outages for portions of Northeast Washington.
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 Apr 16, 9:58 AM PST, 1 hour 42 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
1058 AM PDT Wed Apr 16 2025
.SYNOPSIS...
A dry cold front will produce strong north winds across central
and north central Washington on Wednesday. Sustained winds of 25
mph with gusts between 35 and 45 mph are likely from Oroville to
Omak to Ephrata from mid morning into the early evening Wednesday.
Breezy winds and low humidity will likely linger into Thursday.
Above average temperatures will return Friday and Saturday with
highs in the 60s and 70s. Sunday through Tuesday will be cooler
and breezy weather with mountain showers.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Today: The strong trough set to impact our forecast area today is
currently over British Columbia and will be making its way downward
into Idaho later. This strong, dry trough will allow cold northerly
flow to funnel through the Okanogan Valley and into the Waterville
Plateau and the Columbia Basin. Sustained winds with this system
will be 25 to 30 mph, and wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph are expected.
The highest wind totals will be observed from Omak to Waterville.
Current NBM probabilities for gusts 45 to 50 mph sit above 60
percent for Ephrata and Moses Lake, and above 80 percent for Omak. A
Wind Advisory has been issued from 5am this morning through 8pm
tonight.
Potential Wind Impacts for Wednesday:
*Rough water on area lakes: Water bodies are cold this time of year.
The lakes of central Washington like Banks, Potholes, Moses, and
Roosevelt will be dangerous on Wednesday with sustained winds of 20
to 25 mph and gusts of 35 to 40 mph. Cold water kills folks in
Washington every year making Wednesday a potentially dangerous day
for medium to large sized water bodies dangerous.
*Grass Fires: Even though green grass emerging region-wide, there
will be concerns for wildfires Wednesday. With relative humidity as
low as 15 to 25 percent in the afternoon and early evening,
concentrations of dead grass from last year's growth will be capable
of carrying fire.
*Blowing Dust: Over the years, the fields around Moses Lake have
generated dust in March and April as they are being planted or
prepped for planting. Dust this time of year is usually patchy, but
can lead to very poor visibility adjacent to recently worked fields.
Thursday: As the trough moves eastward and out of Washington, breezy
winds will continue into Thursday, with wind gusts near 20 mph
expected in the afternoon hours. The northern Idaho Panhandle will
see more widespread areas of breezy gusts, particularly from
Sandpoint down to Post Falls and the Coeur d'Alene area. Relative
humidities will still be low, so the potential for grass fires
continues. Additionally, the cold front and winds will make
temperatures Wednesday night into Thursday morning very chilly, with
sub-freezing temperatures anticipated in the early morning hours of
Thursday.
Friday through Saturday night: In the wake of the strong trough,
high pressure will move into the area, warming temperatures to back
around normal. While Friday morning will be chilly again, with lows
near freezing, Saturday morning will see a jump in temperatures to
the high 30s and low 40s. High temperatures will be in the low to
mid 60s. Through Saturday night, dry conditions are expected. The
arrival of a cold front on Saturday night will bring elevated wind
gusts to the western portion of the forecast area, with Wenatchee,
Waterville, Leavenworth, and Chelan anticipating wind gusts up to 35
mph.
Sunday through Wednesday: A weaker trough will move through northern
Washington beginning Sunday, bringing unsettled weather back to the
forecast area through the extended period. Some precipitation is
anticipated with this trough, but will mostly be limited to mountain
precipitation due to orographic lift. Due to much of the area not
seeing any significant precipitation through the near and extended
forecast period, the Climate Prediction Center has us at near normal
precipitation trending downward to below normal precipitation for
the 6-10 Day Outlook. For the 8-14 Day Outlook, the outlook has the
area anticipating near normal precipitation. Temperatures will
remain near normal and winds will be light. /AS
&&
.AVIATION...
18Z TAFS: VFR conditions expected through the TAF period. A
strong trough moving through will bring strong northerly winds to
TAF sites, but particularly to the Okanogan Valley and Waterville
Plateau, impacting airports such as Omak, Grand Coulee, Moses
Lake, and Ephrata. KGEG-KSFF-KMWH-KPUW-KLWS are starting to see
winds increase. KCOE- KEAT will see winds increase a bit later.
All TAF sites but KSFF- KEAT will see wind gusts up to 30kts
through 02Z. Through the windiest areas, wind gusts up to 40kts
are anticipated.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
in VFR conditions through 18z Wednesday and moderate confidence in
conditions remaining VFR for the rest of the TAF period. While
winds will be strong enough for blowing dust, it will be very
localized and confidence in impacting TAF sites is very low. MWH
is the site most likely to be impacted by blowing dust this time
of year due to crop planting in the area.
-----------------------
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 61 30 58 33 63 39 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coeur d'Alene 60 28 56 31 61 36 / 20 10 0 0 0 0
Pullman 61 30 54 31 58 37 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lewiston 68 36 61 36 65 40 / 0 10 0 0 0 0
Colville 58 27 60 29 64 36 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Sandpoint 58 28 54 29 59 36 / 40 10 10 0 0 0
Kellogg 58 31 51 31 56 37 / 40 20 10 0 0 0
Moses Lake 66 34 64 34 68 43 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wenatchee 67 38 63 39 68 46 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Omak 63 30 65 35 69 42 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...None.
WA...Wind Advisory until 8 PM PDT this evening for Okanogan Valley-
Waterville Plateau.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 strong wind, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Observer reported a downed tree blocking a road 2 mile Northeast of Mead. A observation site recorded a gust of 27 MPH at the time.
Northbound lane of SR25 blocked due to downed trees. An agrimet site on Lions Island near Kettle Falls recorded a gust of 39 MPH at 1425 LST. Utility companies reported 2100 customers lost power in Stevens county near Fruitland and 1728 customers lost power in Pend Oreille County near Usk.
Near zero visibility on Interstate 90 at milepost 206 led to a collision, and a 1.5 mile backup of westbound lanes. Traffic closure lasted roughly 2 hours.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Washington in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Washington, April 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: 1257698, 1257688, 1257676.