A Little Breezy

We were hit with a wind storm of greater magnitude than any in recent memory Saturday night. Don Sausser, perched high above the waterfront in Coeur d'Alene, recorded a wind gust that exceeded 43 MPH. This morning we learned that a Montana town broke their anemometer when it reached 116 MPH.

Not to be left behind, according to Bayview Bob, who monitors the navy weather station,the Navy barge north of Cape Horn on Lake Pend Oreille recorded a high wind of 88 MPH. Trees were uprooted in many areas from the wind coupled with super saturated soil, causing the roots to release rather easily. During the height of the frontal passage,leaves and other detritus was being blown horizontally, resembling a hurricane, but then at 88 MPH it had the winds to equal one.

I have no information of property damage on the vast shorelines of the lake, but there had to be some. Lake Pend Oreille has very few sheltered waters, and with the north/south orientation the winds blow straight down the lake unimpeded by any barriers.

When the wind reached it's peak, I ran outside to move my car which is normally parked under a white fir that is in poor health.I parked it on the street. The next morning, a limb of the aforementioned tree was laying just a few feet from where my car was parked before moving it. The limb had a diameter of about four inches.

I am reasonably certain that some docks, boats and other shoreline accoutrement's are floating in unusual places today. If you have experienced damage, please tell us about it in the comments section.