Thunderstorm Wind in Grant County, Washington

Roughly fifty customers in the Mae Valley subdivision of Moses Lake lost power when strong thunderstorm winds damaged five different power poles holding transmission lines.

As the gust front moved into northern sections of Grant County, law enforcement reported numerous trees and power poles downed in and around Grand Coulee. Overall, 6500 customers loss power across Grant County during the storm.

A stationary trough of low pressure along the Pacific Northwest Coastline resulted in moist, unstable, southwesterly flow over the Inland Northwest. A shortwave embedded within the flow, triggered thunderstorms during the afternoon hours of August 25, 2013. The storms originated in the Lower Columbia Basin and quickly moved through the Basin and into the northern mountain regions of Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. A strong squall line emerged from this activity which created damaging winds resulting in a dust storm and numerous downed trees and power lines. There was one fatality and one injury at campground from a large tree falling on a tent. Several other areas experienced property damage.