Thunderstorm Wind in Pend Oreille County, Washington

A member of the public reported a 12 inch diameter pine tree snapped halfway up the trunk near Newport from a thunderstorm wind gust.

During the evening of July 23rd, a strong upper level trough triggered thunderstorms in a moist and unstable air mass over northeast Oregon. These storms moved northeastward into eastern Washington and north Idaho forming into a line of thunderstorms featuring severe wind gusts as they passed through the region. Numerous reports of 60 mph wind gusts, downed trees and power outages were received from northeast Washington and north Idaho during the late evening hours as this line swept through the region. Lightning and downed power lines caused multiple brush and structure fires around the area. An estimated 30,000 customers lost power during this thunderstorm outbreak in northeast Washington and north Idaho.