High Wind in Washington, March 11 to 12, 2026

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
523 PM PDT Wed Mar 11 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- High winds overnight into Thursday morning with potential for
  tree damage and power outages. High profile vehicles need to
  take caution.

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

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Persistent moderate to heavy snow will bring winter travel
conditions over the mountains through Friday night. There is
potential for light lowland snow accumulations in the mountain
valleys as well Wednesday morning and Friday morning. High winds
are expected Wednesday evening and Wednesday night.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
...PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS INTO FRIDAY. HIGH
WINDS THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING...

Tonight into Thursday: A wet warm front is currently draped
across the region bringing lowland rain and mountain snow.
Colder air entrenched along the Cascades are keeping the mid
slope locations including Leavenworth and Plain as snow. An
atmospheric river is still pumping the region with moisture with
precipitable water amounts ranging from 200-250% of normal for
the Cascades and 150-200% for the rest for the region. It is
causing very high amounts of snow for Stevens Pass and moderate
amounts to the Idaho Panhandle. A strong cold front will be
sweeping across the Inland Northwest and bringing high winds
along the with it.

Snow: Ensembles continue to show 2-3 feet of snow for the
ridges of the Cascades including Stevens Pass. The midslopes can
expect 4-8 inches. The Idaho Panhandle can expect 8-14 inches
with the higher amounts through Central and Lower Panhandle
mountains.

Wind: A strong cold front will sweep through the region
overnight bringing high winds across the region. 850Mb winds
will be in the 55-65 mph range. Ensembles have pulled back on
the winds slightly. Current trends have the ridges receiving
55-70 mph gusts. The Basin is expected to get 50-60 mph gusts
from 11PM-06AM. Impacts include downed trees and power lines,
damages to roofs, and blowing dust across the Central Basin.

Thursday through Friday: Moderate to heavy mountain snow
continues through Friday night as the atmospheric river plume
wavers north and south. Stevens Pass and Lookout Pass can expect
another 1 to 3 feet of snow through Friday night. Additional
periods of light valley snow are expected Thursday night into
Friday morning in extreme eastern Washington and north ID. The
extended period of precip of 0.5-1 inches over Southeast
Washington and Lower Idaho Panhandle is leading to potential for
river rises and flooding for the area through the weekend. Winds
will decrease behind the exiting cold front through Thursday.

Saturday through Wednesday: The pattern begins to shift over
the weekend. The mountain snow will taper off through the
weekend as drier air starts to filter into the region. Winds
will remain breezy with gusts into upper 20s and low 30s during
the afternoon hours. Another quick moving system will bring a
punch of mountain snow to the region late Sunday into Monday. A
ridge will move into the region by midweek. /JDC

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAFS: Precipitation will taper at KGEG/KSFF/KCOE in the
near term with conditions gradually improving to VFR.
Precipitaiton will linger longer at KPUW with moist flow
directed into southeast Washington and north Idaho. Cold front
passage arrives overnight between 06Z-12Z, which may result in a
brief period of light rain at KGEG-KSFF-KCOE. The northern edge
of the moisture plume will waiver across southeastern Washington
tomorrow, with intermittent periods of precipitation at KPUW
and KLWS.

West- southwest winds will increase through the evening hours
as a low pressure moves eastward across southwestern Canada.
The strongest winds will occur overnight with the passage of a
cold front between 06-12Z with high confidence for gusts between
40-50 knots at KGEG-KSFF-KCOE-KPUW. 850mb winds are expected to
increase to southwest 60-70 knots across the Columbia Basin
into the Spokane/CdA area this evening, which may result in
periods of LLWS through 08Z.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
for widespread improvements to VFR, with the exception at KPUW
where confidence is moderate. High confidence for winds to
begin ramping up this evening with the strongest winds
occurring overnight.

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

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        38  44  31  44  32  43 /  80  30  60  70  80  40
Coeur d'Alene  35  43  31  42  31  42 /  90  50  80  80  80  70
Pullman        35  43  33  42  34  40 /  90  80  90 100 100  80
Lewiston       43  49  37  48  39  48 /  90  90 100  90 100  80
Colville       34  46  28  45  27  44 /  90  30  40  50  50  40
Sandpoint      34  41  29  40  30  41 / 100  70  80  80  80  80
Kellogg        34  39  32  40  34  37 / 100  90  90 100  90  90
Moses Lake     39  50  32  51  33  49 /  40  20  30  50  50  10
Wenatchee      38  43  32  47  31  44 /  90  50  40  60  50  10
Omak           34  47  29  47  28  47 /  80  30  30  30  30  10

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...High Wind Warning until 11 AM PDT Thursday for Central Chelan
     County-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake Area-
     Northeast Blue Mountains-Northeast Mountains-Okanogan
     Highlands-Okanogan Valley-Spokane Area-Upper Columbia
     Basin-Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau-Wenatchee
     Area.
     Wind Advisory until 11 AM PDT Thursday for Western Okanogan
     County.
     Winter Weather Advisory until 7 PM PDT this evening for
     Central Chelan County.
     Winter Storm Warning until 6 PM PDT this evening for Western
     Chelan County.
     Winter Storm Warning from 5 AM Thursday to 5 AM PDT Saturday
     for Western Chelan County.
     Blizzard Warning until 5 AM PDT Thursday for Western Chelan
     County.
ID...High Wind Warning until 11 AM PDT Thursday for Central
     Panhandle Mountains-Coeur d'Alene Area-Idaho Palouse-
     Northern Panhandle.
     Winter Storm Warning until 11 AM PDT Saturday for Central
     Panhandle Mountains.
     Wind Advisory until 11 AM PDT Thursday for Lewis and Southern
     Nez Perce Counties-Lewiston Area.

&&

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Spokane WA
607 PM PDT Wed Mar 11 2026

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

0605 PM     Snow             Leavenworth             47.60N 120.66W
03/11/2026  M3.0 Inch        Chelan             WA   Trained Spotter

&&

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