Flood in Idaho, March 13 to 14, 2026

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
534 PM PDT Fri Mar 13 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...
- Heavy rain over the Palouse into Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and
  Camas Prairie will increase the risk of river and small stream
  flooding.

- Wet snow impacting Friday evening commute for many of the
  lowlands.

- Moderate to heavy mountain snow this week over the Cascades
  and North Idaho mountain passes.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
A wet weather system will be situated over the Inland Northwest
through tonight. Moderate to heavy precipitation with rain and
a mix of rain and snow in the valleys. Rain over the Palouse
into the southern Idaho Panhandle will lead to rises on rivers
and small streams. Drier and breezy over the weekend and warming
above normal next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
...HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW, LOWLAND SNOW, AND POTENTIAL FOR
FLOODING OVER SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON INTO THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE
CONTINUES INTO TONIGHT...

Tonight through Saturday night: The near stationary moderately
strong Atmospheric River (AR) will finally sag southeast
overnight and turn of the spigot. This will occur once a cold
front sweeps through from around midnight today in the Cascades
to around 200-400 AM overnight in the Idaho Panhandle overnight.
Until this happens, persistent light snow will continue across
the Highway 2 corridor stretching from the Cascades and across
the northern reaches of the Columbia Basin. Colder air moving in
with the front and nocturnal cooling is expected to result in
snow that is falling to accumulate again on roads. Expect an
additional 1-3 inches with local accumulations above 2,000 feet
of up to 4-5 inches. Snow intensities may pick up a bit as the
cold front moves through just after midnight. Expect west slushy
snow and slippery travel for the evening commuting period, and
minor impacts to travel in the in the valleys in the early
overnight period. Stevens Pass, Blewett Pass, and Lookout Pass
will also continue to receive heavy snow accumulations through
the evening into tonight. Additional snow accumulations at
Blewett and Stevens Pass is expected to be between 4-10 inches
and tapering up to snow showers around midnight tonight. The
stretch of I-90 between 4th of July Pass and Lookout Pass will
again see winter travel conditions tonight with heavy
accumulations of between 8-16 inches for travel over the
mountains passes and between 3-8 inches of additional snow for
the Silver Valley.

Flooding will also be a concern over the Palouse region into the
southern Idaho Panhandle as persistent rain and low elevation
snow melts results in rises to the Palouse River and other small
streams and creeks. We will be keeping a close eye on rises
along the Palouse River at Potlatch, Paradise Creek, Potlatch
River near Spalding, Lapwai Creek, and Lawyer Creek as all of
these areas are expected to see the potential for flooding
impacts tonight into Saturday. Flooding of low lying areas and
ponding of water on roads will be a concern as well. Snow melt
will come to an end by Saturday morning with the passage of the
cold front and temperatures decrease below freezing. The last
bit of precipitation will also see a transition back to snow as
well, and this should mitigate further flooding impacts;
however, we still have a 9-12 hour wind still before get to that
point.

The cold front passage will bring good cold air advection and
tighten up the pressure gradient with gusty west to northwest
winds picking up Saturday morning. Expect breezy to windy
conditions through the afternoon on Saturday sustained at 20-30
and gusting up to 40-45 mph. Strongest wind gusts to around 45
mph are expected on the Palouse, Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, and
on the Camas Prairie. The orientation is a bit unusual with
winds more west-northwest rather and west-southwest, which is a
primary reason for why southeast Washington is expected to see
the stronger winds compared to northeast Washington and the
Northern Panhandle.

Sunday through Friday: The weather pattern becomes much more
benign for next week. This isn't to say that there aren't
potential impacts to be mindful of. A ridge of high pressure
builds Sunday through Monday. Even with this ridge, an active
upper level jet with a warm front passage will occur Sunday
night. Another robust sub-tropical moisture plume will extend
across the eastern Pacific, but we will receive only a fraction
of this moisture. Dynamics will also be limited with the warm
front compared to the our current situation. This will result in
much less precipitation with the warm front Sunday might through
Monday. The Cascade crest will see up to around a half of an
inch of precipitation. Snow levels will quickly rise with snow
changing over to rain. Light precipitation will also fall over
the northern mountains and into the Idaho Panhandle. Light snow
is expected for the northern mountain valleys overnight Sunday
into early Monday, but total accumulations are expected to be
less than an inch and unlikely to result in impacts.

Temperatures will warm up considerably next week and be near
record values by Wednesday into Thursday with highs in the
upper 60s to near 70 for. For reference, the warmest day on
record for Spokane for Thursday is 69 in 2024 and the forecast
is for a high of 67. The warm weather will result in low and mid
elevation snow melt and rises on rivers. The Stehekin River will
be of particular concern for flooding impacts as it is expected
to see substantial contribution of melting snow into the
watershed resulting in sharp rises. /SVH

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAFS: A moist frontal boundary continues to  Light to
moderate snow will continue to impact KEAT/KMWH/KGEG/KSFF/KCOE
through the evening. KEAT to KEPH/KMWH and KPUW will see rain,
but the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene corridor will remain as snow into
tonight. Snow will begin sticking at KGEG/KCOE as the sun sets
this evening. A passing cold front A cold front between 08-12Z
will bring drier air and improving ceilings and vis. It may take
until the afternoon before the low clouds mix out of
KGEG/KSFF/KCOE- KPUW/KLWS airport terminals though. Stronger
winds mixing down with the front and a tightening pressure
gradient will also result in gusty west to southwest winds on
Saturday with gusts in the 20020 mph range. Low level wind shear
is expected at KPUW until winds mix down late tonight around
12Z.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
for widespread IFR conditions. Low to moderate confidence in
precipitation type this afternoon especially for KEAT as this
airport is wavering right around the rain/snow line early this
afternoon. High confidence on gusty winds starting late Saturday
morning.

-----------------------

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        31  42  25  42  34  51 /  90  30  10   0  60  30
Coeur d'Alene  31  42  20  41  33  47 /  90  60  20  10  70  60
Pullman        32  40  25  42  34  51 / 100  80  20  10  60  50
Lewiston       39  47  30  47  39  56 / 100  80  20   0  50  40
Colville       25  44  21  43  30  49 /  40  20   0  20  60  40
Sandpoint      30  40  20  39  30  43 /  80  70  20  20  70  80
Kellogg        32  37  16  38  32  46 / 100  90  40  20  80  80
Moses Lake     31  47  27  47  35  59 /  70   0   0   0  20  10
Wenatchee      30  42  27  43  34  55 /  80   0   0  10  30  30
Omak           28  46  27  43  33  51 /  30  10   0  20  40  20

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Winter Weather Advisory until 5 AM PDT Saturday for Spokane
     Area-Washington Palouse.
     Winter Weather Advisory until 10 PM PDT this evening for Upper
     Columbia Basin-Waterville Plateau-Wenatchee Area.
     Winter Storm Warning until 10 PM PDT this evening for Central
     Chelan County.
     Winter Storm Warning until 5 AM PDT Saturday for Western
     Chelan County.
ID...Winter Weather Advisory until 5 AM PDT Saturday for Coeur
     d'Alene Area-Idaho Palouse.
     Winter Storm Warning until 11 AM PDT Saturday for Central
     Panhandle Mountains.

&&

Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary
National Weather Service Spokane WA
500 PM PDT Fri Mar 13 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1000 AM     Snow             9 W Lucerne             48.20N 120.77W
03/13/2026  M14.5 Inch       Chelan             WA   CO-OP Observer

            CO-OP Observer station HLDW1 8.6 W Lucerne.

1000 AM     Snow             2 N Plain               47.78N 120.65W
03/13/2026  M9.6 Inch        Chelan             WA   CO-OP Observer

            CO-OP Observer station PLNW1 2.0 N Plain.

0700 AM     Snow             6 S Huetter             47.62N 116.86W
03/13/2026  M9.0 Inch        Kootenai           ID   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station ID-KT-12 6.6 SSW Coeur
            d'Alene.

0700 AM     Snow             5 NNW Ardenvoir         47.80N 120.40W
03/13/2026  M8.5 Inch        Chelan             WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-CH-22 12.2 NW Entiat.

0800 AM     Snow             2 SE Twisp              48.34N 120.09W
03/13/2026  M7.0 Inch        Okanogan           WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-OK-37 Twisp 2.3 SE.

0800 AM     Snow             2 ESE Post Falls        47.70N 116.90W
03/13/2026  M7.0 Inch        Kootenai           ID   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station ID-KT-38 Coeur D'Alene 5.5
            W.

0900 AM     Snow             Avery                   47.25N 115.81W
03/13/2026  M6.3 Inch        Shoshone           ID   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station ID-SH-2 0.1 S Avery.

0900 AM     Snow             2 ESE Chelan            47.83N 120.00W
03/13/2026  M6.0 Inch        Chelan             WA   CO-OP Observer

            CO-OP Observer station CLNW1 1.5 SE Chelan.

0700 AM     Snow             3 S Saint Maries        47.27N 116.58W
03/13/2026  M5.2 Inch        Benewah            ID   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station ID-BW-3 2.8 S Saint Maries.

0800 AM     Snow             1 SSE Eagle Ridge       47.59N 117.42W
03/13/2026  M5.0 Inch        Spokane            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-SP-97 Spokane 5.7 S.

0800 AM     Snow             3 NW Otis Orchards      47.73N 117.14W
03/13/2026  M5.0 Inch        Spokane            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-SP-73 Otis Orchards-East
            Farms 2.9 NW.

0840 AM     Snow             6 S Tum Tum             47.81N 117.66W
03/13/2026  M4.0 Inch        Spokane            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-SP-43 Spokane 14.6 NW.

0950 AM     Snow             Malaga                  47.37N 120.21W
03/13/2026  M3.0 Inch        Chelan             WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-CH-4 0.4 WSW Malaga.

0700 AM     Snow             9 SE Elmira             48.40N 116.32W
03/13/2026  M3.0 Inch        Bonner             ID   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station ID-BR-27 13.9 NE Sandpoint.

0715 AM     Snow             2 WSW Wenatchee         47.41N 120.35W
03/13/2026  M2.7 Inch        Chelan             WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-CH-51 Wenatchee 1.5 WSW.

0700 AM     Snow             1 SE Eagle Ridge        47.59N 117.42W
03/13/2026  M2.5 Inch        Spokane            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-SP-4 5.5 S Spokane.

0700 AM     Snow             3 WSW Colbert           47.81N 117.40W
03/13/2026  M2.4 Inch        Spokane            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-SP-71 Fairwood 3.1 NNE.

0700 AM     Snow             3 SE Viola              46.81N 116.98W
03/13/2026  M2.4 Inch        Latah              ID   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station ID-LT-19 Moscow 5.9 N.

0800 AM     Snow             Thornton                47.12N 117.39W
03/13/2026  M2.1 Inch        Whitman            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-WM-10 0.3 SE Thornton.

0700 AM     Snow             3 N Spokane             47.69N 117.41W
03/13/2026  M2.0 Inch        Spokane            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-SP-78 Spokane 1.4 N.

0800 AM     Snow             2 SSW 5 Mile            47.71N 117.47W
03/13/2026  M2.0 Inch        Spokane            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-SP-64 Spokane 3.7 NW.

0800 AM     Snow             4 SSW Molson            48.92N 119.22W
03/13/2026  M2.0 Inch        Okanogan           WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-OK-45 Oroville 9.7 E.

0745 AM     Snow             Quincy                  47.24N 119.85W
03/13/2026  E2.0 Inch        Grant              WA   Public

0700 AM     Snow             1 SSE East Wenatchee    47.40N 120.28W
03/13/2026  M2.0 Inch        Douglas            WA   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station WA-DG-20 1.5 SSE East
            Wenatchee.

0700 AM     Snow             5 NNE Spirit Lake       48.03N 116.81W
03/13/2026  M2.0 Inch        Bonner             ID   Cocorahs

            Cocorahs station ID-BR-15 11.6 SSE Priest
            River.

&&