October 1st

2009: Strong winds were reported in Wenatchee and in the upper Columbia Basin. In the evening of the 3rd into the early morning of the 4th. 55-60 mph winds in Wenatchee damaged a roof near the airport. The siding of a house was also blown off. 40 mph winds across the upper Columbia Basin caused a dust storm on Interstate 90 at milepost 196. Low visibilities in the dust storm contributed to a multi vehicle accident involving five vehicles that were all totaled, along with seven indirect injuries. Several road and highway closures resulted from the dust storm.

October 2nd

2009: 20-30 mph winds caused a severe dust storm, reducing visibilities to near zero over southeast Grant County and western Adams County, including the cities of Othello, Warden, and Odessa. A total of 11 indirect injuries in Grant County occurred due to motor vehicle collisions from the dust storm. Widespread road closures resulted from the storm, including Interstate 90 between Moses Lake and Ritzville for most of the day. Elsewhere, 50 mph winds resulted in power outages in the Deer Park and Clayton areas. Trees were snapped off during the winds and landed on power lines which contributed to the couple of thousands of residences losing power. The winds also snapped a power pole.

October 3rd

October 4th

October 5th

2011: A thunderstorm produced two funnel clouds over northern Whitman county, about 13 miles northwest of St. John. One of them touched down briefly (F0) over open wheat fields. No significant damage was reported.

October 6th

October 7th

2010: An F0 tornado briefly touched down near the Lewis and Clearwater county line south of Craigmont. Local law enforcement relayed a message of a tornado witnessed by the public just south of New Hope Road near Lawyer Canyon. No damage was observed from the tornado.

October 8th

2019: A passing strong, short wave produced localized heavy snow showers (3-5”) extending from Spokane to Coeur d’Alene. 3.7” of heavy, wet snow fell at the Spokane International Airport from roughly 10:00 PM Oct 8th to 2:00 AM Oct 9th. This event brought extensive power outages (approx. 32,000) in Spokane County and the northern Idaho Panhandle, with the majority in Spokane. Tree damage occurred over Spokane’s South Hill creating impassive roads, downed power lines, and property damage. This October 8th had record setting snow at the Spokane Airport with 3.3” of the event snowfall accumulation that day. 

October 9th

October 10th

October 11th

October 12th

October 13th

October 14th

October 15th

October 16th

1991: High winds cause a major dust storm that affected Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle. Very strong winds, up to 60 mph in some areas in Idaho, caused visibility to drop to nearly zero from Spokane to Coeur D'Alene. The winds also knocked down power lines, which started a firestorm which destroyed 44 thousand acres of land in Washington State alone. The loss of power closed down the Coeur D'Alene airport for 2.5 hours. A state of emergency was declared in Bonner and Kootenai counties. In all, 5 people died, an unknown number were injured and over $23 million in damages was reported.

October 17th

October 18th

1996:Two feet of snow fell in the St. Joe's forest in 19 hours. Two people were trapped for five days north of Avery in Shoshone county.

October 19th

October 20th

2003: 2-3 inches of rain fell over the east slopes of the Cascades in the evening hours. 3.23 inches of rain fell at Mazama, the most rainfall on-record to fall in the city. This produced the worst flooding on record along the Stehekin River on the 21st. 

1994: Thunderstorm winds knock down tall trees, which damaged power poles and a few parked vehicles.

October 21st

2003: While there is no official flood stage on the Stehekin River, the river rose 13 feet by early morning October 21st from the rains on the day before. Four homes were lost and 10 to 20 were damaged. The flood extensively damaged the park infrastructure of the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Hundreds of trees were washed down the river valley and deposited in the northern reaches of Lake Chelan. The village of Holden, in the mountains south of Lake Chelan, suffered damage as a result of mud slides and swollen feeder streams. Three mud slides cut Highway 20 between Varden Creek and Washington Pass. The largest slide covered the road with a 100 foot wide stretch of 6 foot deep mud and rocks.

1991: Winds gusted around 60 mph throughout Grant county. Blowing dust and 45 mph gusts reduce visibility to zero in Pasco and Hanford.

October 22nd

2004: A cold front moved across Grant county, causing high winds and heavy rains. The winds reached 60 mph, and destroyed a hay storage building east of Soap Lake and caused extensive damage to a wheel irrigation system. Heavy rains in Ephrata cause ponding of water across roads and local power outages.

2001: A strong low pressure system brings high winds throughout eastern Washington and northern Idaho late in the evening through the morning of the 23rd. An 83 mph gust was recorded at Priest Lake, a 75 mph gust was recorded at Alder Ridge, a 60 mph wind was recorded at Clarkston, and a 58 mph gust was recorded at Lewiston. Most other locations received 40-50 mph wind gusts. A tree fell onto a home at Pinehurst.

October 23rd

October 24th

October 25th

October 26th

1994: 76 mph gusts were recorded at the Priest Rapids Dam in Grant County. Several power outages were reported.

October 27th

October 28th

2019: An arctic cold front moved into the northern Idaho Panhandle and spread into the Columbia Basin through the early evening. In addition to blustery winds with gusts as high as 60 mph, there was a burst of snow that produced localized brief heavy snow and poor visibilities. Numerous highway closures and accidents occurred due to black ice, poor visibility, and high winds. A small wildfire between the Wenatchee Airport and Rock Island brought some damage to a chicken farm. 

2003: A strong cold front moved through northern Idaho and eastern Washington, producing very strong winds. Sustained winds throughout the area were in the 40-50 mph range, with typical gusts in the 60-65 mph range. A remote weather station near Oroville recorded a 94 mph gust. The winds caused blowing dust in the Palouse, reducing visibility to zero at times, forcing some roads to close. A truck was blown over in Moscow, and a tree fell onto a car in the city. A tree fell on a motor home in Wenatchee and in Ritzville. 10 power lines in Ritzville were snapped, and a roof was also ripped off a house. The falling trees and power lines caused 17,000 people throughout the region to lose power.

October 29th

October 30th

October 31st

2016: Record Wet October

1999: 50 mph winds and pea-sized hail were reported at Bonners Ferry. A roof was torn off a building in the city.

1995: Dense fog and black ice cause 3 cars to roll over within a mile of each other on Lewiston Hill. Other automobiles were reported to have slid off the highway. No serious injuries were reported.