Thunderstorm Wind — Kootenai, Idaho

2013-03-20 · near Houser, Kootenai, Idaho

Event narrative

National Weather Service survey team reported straight line wind damage. A total of 20 to 30 trees were blown over and another 30 to 40 trees were damaged in a swath of 150 yards wide and half a mile long. One tree fell on a barn, another on a house, and a third fell on a trailer. Some of the larger trees that fell over were up to three feet in diameter. Trees were laying in a southwest to northeast direction. Winds were estimated at between 70 to 80 miles per hour. The home owner was in the basement at the time of the damage and was not injured. A rough estimate was used for the total damage during the event.

Wider weather episode

A strong spring storm system produced heavy snow across the mountains of the Northern Panhandle as a moist warm front moved across the area during the morning hours. This was followed by a cold front that stretched across the central and northern Idaho Panhandle during the afternoon. The cold front produced a squall line that stretched from the Coeur d'Alene Area to the Camas Prairie that resulted in severe wind gusts in a couple of spots along this line.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (47.7800, -116.9600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 436870. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.