Strong winds, rain hit Spokane area Monday morning, with more to come

The Spokane area faced a windy Monday morning with the strongest gusts yet to come, according to the National Weather Service Spokane.

Gusts between 40 to 50 mph blew through the Spokane area Monday morning, said meteorologist Ken Daniels.

A high-wind warning was issued for the Spokane and North Idaho area until 11 pm Monday. By 3:40 pm, more than 9,000 Avista and Inland Power and Light customers across those areas and northern Spokane County were without power.

“We’re progressing as expected,” Daniels said at 11 am Monday. “Many locations still haven’t seen their peak winds for today.”

Spokane could see gusts up to 60 mph with sustained winds between 25 to 40 mph through the early afternoon and into the evening, Daniels said.

Rain will likely continue with a chance of thunderstorms, he said. As of 11 am, three tenths of an inch of rain fell at Spokane International Airport, he said.

Conditions at Steven, Blewett, and Snoqualmie passes were less than ideal Monday morning with snow blown about by strong winds and areas of poor visibility, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The weather service predicts a potential of 2 feet of wet snow on Stevens Pass, and 6 inches of snow on Lookout Pass in Idaho. Paired with the heavy winds that follow, forecasters are warning of downed trees and power lines in mountainous areas.

Avista Utilities issued several emails to customers urging them to prepare for the strong winds and potential power outages. The company said in a news release, crews are ready to deploy quickly to assess power outages.

As of 3 pm more than 10,000 customers were without power from more than 100 outages. The largest outages were in north of Spokane County in the areas of Springdale, Chewelah and Colville.

Another approximately 3,140 Inland Power and Light customers were without power as of Monday afternoon, including just over 1,970 customers in Spokane County.

Strong winds will persist into Tuesday before quieting down later in the week, the weather service forecast.