SPOKANE, Wash. — Extreme weather tends to come in doses for the Spokane area. And in 2020, there was a one-two punch of weather events in the month of September that was by far the most extreme.
It starts with Labor Day, Sep. 7. A day that started with high winds and dry conditions led to a wildfire ignition event across Washington.
High Wind Warnings and Red Flag Warnings were issued leading into the day and by the afternoon, more than a dozen wildfires were raging. The high winds caused some of the fires to expand extremely fast.
The fast moving Babb Road Fire was the fire that destroyed eighty percent of the town of Malden and hit Pine City, too.
And in Okanogan County, the Cold Springs Fire became a complex fire and one of the largest fires in that region since 2015.
Several more fires ignited over the Cascades in Washington and Oregon. And existing fires became extremely large and aggressive.
That event led to the worst air quality ever recorded in Spokane a week later.
A whiplash of wildfire smoke that overtook the area starting Saturday, Sep. 12 and the air quality index shot up into the hazardous category. That worsen on Sunday and remained hazardous through Sep. 15.
All four days were the worst ever recorded by Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency.
Of course, snow and storms were also present in the Spokane area in 2020. Just this winter started off with the snowiest October day ever. And in late May, the severe weather outlook reached the Enhanced category, the highest risk level ever issued for eastern Washington.
Is there a weather event you think was memorable in 2020? Let me know on Facebook and Twitter @ThomasPatrickWX.
And be sure to see my Weather Classroom on the subject, wrapping up the weather year that was 2020.
