SPOKANE, Wash.—It was two years ago on Friday that a windstorm killed two people and left thousands of people in the Inland Northwest without power.
Near Hurricane strength winds slammed the region November 17, 2015.
Wind gusts at the Spokane International Airport were recorded at 65-75 miles-per-hour. The speeds of a Category 1 hurricane start at 74 miles-per-hour.
During Windstorm 2015 the record was set for the strongest “non-thunderstorm associated winds” in the region.
The storm taught many lessons to companies and people in the region, but the most important lesson learned was there was a need for more information.
During the storm Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency the day after the wind storm.
The damage that took many residents months, and some years to clean-up was a rare weather occurrence, according to meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Spokane.
Meteorologist Briana Bermensolo explained that pressure gradients were responsible for creating the strong winds on November 17.
