SPOKANE, Wash. — A powerful windstorm ripped through the Northwest Monday bringing widespread gusts topping 60 mph to much of the Inland Northwest. The worst of the storm sits in the rearview, but breezy conditions are expected to stick around through Tuesday for much of the region.
A powerful storm moving out of the Pacific into British Columbia brought a tailing cold front to the Northwest Monday. The potent front was responsible for widespread rain, gusting wind, heavy mountain snow and a few isolated thunderstorms. Most of the storm’s impact was felt in the form of wind on Monday for much of the eastern half of Washington and North Idaho.
Wind gusts over 50 mph have the potential to topple trees. Monday’s powerful wind was responsible for many downed trees and power outages across the region. Spokane officially recorded a 60 mph gust. As far south as Walla Walla, gusts reached 66 mph. Athol came in at 61 mph and the peak gust came from Beverly, WA where the anemometer recorded an 81 mph gust.
The strong wind was enough to kick up dirt and dust into the atmosphere. As wind continued through the afternoon, dust in the air dropped air quality to moderate levels across the Inland Northwest. Tuesday’s wind will be light enough to mitigate any air quality concerns.
As the storm and associated front move east, the wind will slowly wind down. Gusts will stay westerly on Tuesday, topping out around 35 mph throughout the day. At that strength, widespread damage isn’t a concern for Eastern Washington or North Idaho.
Conditions will continue to improve through the week. Wednesday will welcome much calmer weather with afternoon highs climbing back into the 60s both Thursday and Friday.