Thunderstorm Wind in Garfield County, Washington

The Alpowa Summit observation platform located along Highway 12 at 1775 feet clocked sustained winds of 48 mph with gusts to 60 mph.

A deep trough of low pressure dropped down the Washington Coastline then swung inland into the Inland Northwest during the afternoon of July 23rd. The wave took on a strong negative tilt and moved into a moist and very unstable air mass. The outcome was a widespread severe weather event for Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho producing large hail, flash flooding, and widespread wind damage. Large hail and heavy rain were the initial threats early in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon, the threat shifted to damaging winds with hundreds of downed or snapped trees. The hardest hit areas were Northeastern Washington and Northern Idaho. Falling trees led to some injuries in Eastern Washington.