Wind Advisory

Posted: 10/13/2016 4:28:24 PM
 

Incident Type: Wind Advisory

Date and Time of Incident: October 13-14, 2016

Reporting Officer: Fire Inspector/Investigator Craig Etherton PIO

Reporting Officer Phone: 208-659-8986              

Reporting Officer Email: [email protected]

 

Narrative:

At 2:00 pm the Kootenai County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was briefed by the National Weather service (NWS) out of Spokane on the upcoming rain and wind events expected over the next few days.

At 2:30pm OEM briefed members of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene Police and Fire Departments, and the Coeur D’Alene School District.  The NWS has issued a wind advisory meaning that the area could expect to see wind speeds of 40-50 mph, much lower than the “windstorm” we saw in November 2015.  This wind event will occur as a cold front moves through the area in the early morning hours of Friday between 2:00-5:00 am.  Wind speeds will then lessen for a few hours before increasing again Friday afternoon and early evening.  Rain is also expected tonight and through Saturday.

The NWS is calling this a “Routine Storm”.  Storms like this are seen in our area 14-15 times a year.  There is a possibility that trees may fall under the weight of the rain and from water saturation in the ground coupled with gusty winds.

Please take this time to prepare.  Secure outside items and furniture and make sure your family is prepared should you lose power, including charging up cellular devices.

The Emergency Operations Center has been placed on Standby.  Should this storm bring more damage than expected it can be quickly placed into operation.

“As the forecast is constantly changing we encourage everyone to monitor the National Weather Service for timely forecasts for their area.  We also want them to remember that 911 is only to be used in the event of life threatening emergencies and that we encourage them to use the non-emergency number for services in their specific area and to locate those numbers now before they are needed.  In the event the storm rises to a higher level than anticipated, the EOC will be activated and we will provide a public information number through our social media outlets.” Captain Dave Hagar of CDAPD stated.

The link below is to the NWS Facebook page.  See how this event compares to last November’s “Windstorm”

https://www.facebook.com/NWSSpokane/

End of Release