A dry cold front brought gusty winds to North Idaho. Most areas had gusts in the upper 20s to 30s mph range.
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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 dry cold front brought gusty winds to North Idaho. Most areas had gusts in the upper 20s to 30s mph range. No damage was reported.
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 6, 3:11 PM PST, 4 hours 49 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
411 PM PDT Mon Apr 6 2026
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Gusty winds and dry conditions Tuesday with elevated grass
fire potential in the late morning and afternoon.
&&
.SYNOPSIS...
Temperatures cool back to near normal Tuesday with a dry cold
front passage, along with breezy conditions. The Inland
Northwest looks to be unseasonably dry through the next week.
Widespread showers possible for upcoming weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Tonight and Tuesday: The weekend ridge has flattened as a
trough is currently pressing into the Pacific Northwest from
Canada. Precipitable water amounts are around 0.5-0.6 of an inch
(130-140 percent of normal) prior to front passage. Any precip
will be over the Cascades and northern mountains and expected to
only be a few hundredths. The trough will push a strong dry
cold front through the Inland Northwest during the late morning
hours between 6-9 AM PDT. Drier air behind the front will drop
precipitable water down to 0.1-0.2 of an inch (40-50 percent of
normal). Winds will be gusty with the front passage. 850Mb winds
are in the 40-50 mph range. Model surface winds are in the
25-40 mph range. The region has around a 30 percent chance of
gusts greater than 40 mph with the best chance over Southeast
Washington and the Okanogan Valley. Advisories have been issued
for these areas for minor tree damage, flying debris, and rapid
spread of new fire starts. Areas across the northern Columbia
Basin and Waterville Plateau could also see stronger gusts with
front passage. Patchy blowing dust near worked fields could also
bring some localized impacts. Uncertainty on location and
impacts leads to a low confidence. Winds will decline through
the afternoon and evening hours. The front will deliver a 10-15
degree drop in high temperatures on Tuesday relative to Monday.
Morning lows will be in the upper 30s and 40s. Highs will be in
the upper 50s and 60s.
Wednesday through Sunday: High pressure will build off the
Pacific Northwest coast and bring another period of dry weather.
Ensembles have pulled back on any precip chances for the Inland
Northwest with a less the 10 percent chance of precip through
Friday. The ridge is expected to break down late Friday has a
Gulf of Alaska Low drops into the region as Gulf of Alaska Low
begins to move into the region. With the path of the Low
determining the impacts, Ensembles show poor agreement with the
trajectory and timing of the Low. The farther South and West it
tracks, the less chance of precip for the Inland Northwest. The
current trend has precip starting late Saturday and continuing
through Tuesday. Areas could see 0.2-0.5 of an inch through the
period. If the more southern and western track occurs, the
Inland Northwest could receive little to no precip. If it does
occur, it will mainly be a rain event except for snow over the
mountain crests. Highs will be in the upper 50s and low 60s for
Wednesday before climbing into the 60s and low 70s by Friday.
Overnight lows will be in the 30s and low 40s. /JDC
&&
.AVIATION...
00Z TAFS: VFR conditions expected through the forecast period
with variable middle to high clouds. Windsremain breezy
overnight. A vigorous cold front will push across later in the
morning tomorrow between 12-18Z on Tuesday. Westerly winds will
increase sharply with frontal passage and shift north to
northwest.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS:
High confidence in VFR conditions.
-----------------------
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 45 59 34 60 35 63 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Coeur d'Alene 44 57 34 58 35 62 / 10 0 0 0 0 0
Pullman 46 58 34 58 36 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lewiston 49 63 37 63 39 66 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Colville 40 61 31 62 33 66 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sandpoint 44 55 32 56 34 60 / 10 10 0 0 0 0
Kellogg 46 56 34 56 36 61 / 10 10 0 0 0 0
Moses Lake 44 68 34 65 38 69 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Wenatchee 43 63 37 64 40 65 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
Omak 41 63 35 64 38 67 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Wind Advisory from 8 AM to 5 PM PDT Tuesday for Lower Garfield
and Asotin Counties-Northeast Blue Mountains-Okanogan
Valley.
ID...None.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet station Lakeview Triple SWTZ1 reported a max gust of 57 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Idaho in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Idaho, April 2026
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: 1334889.