Storm takes heavy toll on crops

The severe thunderstorm that rolled through Whitman County on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 23, caused a lot of damage in a short amount of time mainly in the eastern part of the county.

The National Weather Service in Spokane issued a severe thunderstorm warning that afternoon before the storm hit. Some parts of Colfax lost power during the storm. Reports indicate heaviest damage was in the Pullman-Colton area and even that was spotty. While one farm lost a crop, a neighboring farm didn’t. The worst storm damage was reported in the northern part of Spokane.

The hail hit standing wheat which was believed to be a week to 10 days away from harvest. The Ewartsville and Union Flat Creek areas and fields north toward Pullman were hit by the hail.

Mike Boone who farms in the Union Flat area estimated the loss on their fields could be in the 50 to 60 percent range. A better idea of the loss will be known when harvest gets underway.

The Avista website the next morning reported power to 1,583 customers was knocked out at some point in Colfax. Other outage counts were 1,286 in Pullman, 322 in Rosalia and 51 in Palouse.

County Commissioner Dean Kinzer, who farms south of Pullman, said his farm took a direct hit.

Kinzer, who resides on Ryan Road south of Ewartsville, said they lost all of their pea crop and possibly half of his wheat and barley crops.

“I’ve never seen this kind of damage,” he said.

Big tree limbs hit his home with damage severe enough that his front steps might have to be entirely replaced.

Kinzer said the storm hit between 3 and 3:30 p.m. July 23 and lasted less than 15 minutes. He said hail stones as large as quarters and bigger fell so hard and heavy that his wife, Barb, couldn’t see as far as their grain bins that are close to the house.

Kinzer said he has observed hail damage to crops from Round Barn Hill along Highway 195 to his place.

He said his crop loss will be felt not only this year, but for several years to come.

Colton farmer Art Schultheis said his farm didn’t get any hail, but the storm blew in a little rain and a lot of wind. He said a neighbor about a half mile north of his place sustained hail damage.

Commissioner Art Swannack who farms in the Lamont area said they received some hail but crops weren’t damaged too much from it. However, he said he recorded 61 mph winds and a neighbor recorded 69 mph winds during the height of the storm. He also said they received heavy rain, about three-tenths to four-tenths of an inch in about 15 minutes.

“That’s a fair chunk of rain in a short amount of time,” he said.

He said although his fields didn’t wash, he had heard of some farm fields in the area that washed from the sudden heavy rain.

A report from the LaCrosse area said the storm went around that region. They received a small amount of rain, enough to shut down harvest for a while. The area received no hail, but did get high winds for a short amount of time.

A Garfield resident reported pea-sized hail along with wind and believed there was some damage on the edge of town. He said a hard rain flattened some grain and damaged peas, garbanzos and lentils. He also estimated the region received about three-tenths of an inch of rain.

A farmer in the Thornton area said his crops weren’t damaged. His farm received no rain, but they had a lot of wind. He recorded a wind gust of 47 mph at the height of the storm.

According to a crop insurance agent in Pullman, the peas in that area were hit the hardest because they were combine ready. He also has taken reports of fall wheat damage. He said the damage was heavy in spots halfway to Colton from Pullman and north of Palouse. He also had reports east of Moscow which had hail damage.

The agent also said one farmer who lives about one mile west of Pullman reported hail damage to a vehicle’s windshield and windows in his home broken from the hail. Another client reported vehicle damage from the hail.