Spokane

Multiple wildfires continued burning across eastern Washington and the Inland Northwest, including the Bigelow fire near Spokane Valley, while smoke left Spokane skies hazy. Large fires on the Colville Reservation and in Douglas and Stevens counties also prompted evacuations.

Wildfire smoke from the Kaiser Canyon fire is keeping air quality poor across eastern Washington, including Spokane, while a heat advisory remains in effect. Conditions are expected to improve by midweek, though thunderstorms could worsen fire activity and smoke again.

Wildfire smoke moved into the Spokane region overnight, pushing air quality into the unhealthy range and triggering alerts from local monitors. Forecasters also warned of hot, windy weather and thunderstorms that could worsen fire danger.

Mount Spokane State Park is experiencing an unusually impressive bloom of bear grass, with thousands of white flower stalks covering meadows and ski slopes. The bloom is brief and unpredictable, and visitors are encouraged to see it soon without picking the flowers.

A fast-moving wildfire in Spokane destroyed at least 15 homes and left one person presumed dead after human remains were found in a home where the occupant had refused to evacuate. Thousands remained under evacuation orders as crews worked the fire.

Unusually mild January weather in eastern Washington and the Inland Northwest prompted rare midwinter sightings of Milbert’s tortoiseshell butterflies, which normally don’t emerge until March.

A warm spell in March shattered long-standing temperature records across the Inland Northwest, with daily highs and minimums exceeding century-old benchmarks. A cooling weather pattern with rain is expected to follow the record-setting heat.

Flooding caused by rapid snowmelt and rain in the Inland Northwest led to multiple road closures and forced highway maintenance crews to pump water off major roadways.

Two people were killed when a tree fell on their truck on U.S. Highway 2 near Spokane International Airport, likely due to heavy winds.

Severe wind gusts up to 70 mph caused significant damage in Spokane, Washington, downing trees and cutting power for thousands of residents. Tragically, two deaths occurred when a tree fell onto a vehicle.

A second case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed in Washington, detected in a white-tailed deer in Spokane County. This follows the first case earlier in the year.

Spokane experienced its fourth-hottest year on record in 2024, with exceptional summer heat, a significant dust storm, and an unprecedentedly wet late-year. Weather extremes spanned subzero temperatures in January to record summer heat and heavy rainfall later on.

Ponderosa pines in Eastern Washington are displaying signs of irregular growth.

A recent outbreak of salmonellosis is leading to the deaths of wild birds throughout the northern United States. The current die-off affects finches such as pine siskins as well as other songbirds.

Larger-than-normal kokanee in Lake Coeur d’Alene are sending migratory eagles wheeling on to better hunting grounds this winter.

Personnel from Spokane County Fire District 3 and the state Department of Natural Resources were working to contain the fires on Monday, while a record-breaking heat wave threatened to maintain ample supplies of dry air and fuel.

A dry January across most of Idaho left the Panhandle with below-normal snowpack and increased drought worries."Notably, the Coeur d’Alene-St. Joe basins received only 38% of normal precipitation for January," according to the Idaho Water Supply Report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service released Tuesday. Nine snow monitoring sites in the Panhandle recorded their driest or second-driest January, the report said.

Demonstration of how easy ponderosa pine tree tops can be broken due to the effects of climate change.

Idaho's Panhandle is experiencing near record-low snowpack levels, with persistent dry conditions and forecasts suggesting a continued negative impact on snowpack development.

The Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) Tribes and Climate Change Program is publishing a report called the Status of Tribes and Climate C...