SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Three years ago, a windstorm roared through Spokane, killing two people and leaving thousands without power in the Inland Northwest.
Near hurricane-strength winds hit the region on November 17, 2015. Wind gusts at the Spokane International Airport were recorded at 66 to 75 mph, which is nearly equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.
The Nov. 2015 windstorm set the record for the strongest “non-thunderstorm associated winds” in the region, and the region learned many lessons because of it.
This rare weather occurrence caused damage that took some residents months, and others years to recover from. More than half of Avista’s customers, an estimated 180,000 people, lost power and crews were working around the clock. It took nearly two weeks to restore power to all customers.
Avista replaced a number of poles as a result of the 2015 windstorm in a process called “grid modernization.” Some of the poles and wires in certain areas were replaced and others were relocated.
Another lesson learned is that when power gets knocked out, gas station pumps are not immune. Individual gas stations and main terminal outages resulted in long lines at the few working stations, and gas shortages.
At least 375 trees across the city were downed by the storm. Several of them ended up in people’s bedrooms, and one narrowly missed a sleeping baby.
Those affected by the windstorm will most likely not forget it soon. The silver lining to that is they also won’t forget how to prepare if and when another like it rolls through the Inland Northwest.
