The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
52°F
Current Conditions
Few clouds
View complete weather report
Subscribe now

Hottest spot around

From left, JyJy Jones, Chad Charvat and Greg McKee tear shake roofing off a house on Woodruff in the Ponderosa neighborhood in Spokane Valley on Tuesday, as the temperature climbed to the upper 90s. (Liz Kishimoto / The Spokesman-Review)
Christopher Rodkey Staff writer
From left, JyJy Jones, Chad Charvat and Greg McKee tear shake roofing off a house on Woodruff in the Ponderosa neighborhood in Spokane Valley on Tuesday, as the temperature climbed to the upper 90s. (Liz Kishimoto / The Spokesman-Review)

If it seems like the drive down Spokane Valley’s East Sprague Avenue is hotter than elsewhere, it’s true.

According to temperature readings from the National Weather Service, hot days are more often hotter in Spokane Valley than in Spokane proper. Typically by 2.5 degrees.

“Everybody feels it when they’re walking out of the grocery store onto the asphalt,” said Rocco Pelatti, a meteorologist with the Spokane weather service office. “The 100s feel like 100s.”

During the past week of near-record-high temperatures, it’s been about 2 degrees to 3 degrees higher at Spokane Valley’s closest official monitoring station, at Felts Field, than at the official Spokane gauge near Geiger Field.

It’s a common occurrence, Pelatti said. Felts Field is about 400 feet lower than Geiger, and temperatures usually drop by 5 degrees for every 1,000 feet increase in elevation.

Spokane Valley has a weather identity often unlike that of Spokane, Pelatti said. The Valley often gets more precipitation each year than the city, and the air is usually warmer. An urban island effect, evident on East Sprague, can cause hot air to linger near the surface, which sends bank signs’ thermometer readings soaring well above the official reading.

Despite the difference in temperature, Spokane Valley does not have its own official weather forecast or temperature reading. Felts Field is at the east edge of Spokane’s city limits, and official stations are often set up only near airports.

Any attempt to make a Spokane Valley forecast would be difficult, anyway, Pelatti said. The Valley’s terrain fluctuates from a riverbed to hilltop plateaus, and it’s hard to pinpoint the weather in each spot.

“There are climate variations due to different elevation,” Pelatti said. “We’ve got 500-foot differences in some of the spots, and not a lot of cities have that.”

Whether the pavement is in Spokane or in Spokane Valley, it’s all the same kind of heat, said construction crew supervisor Jeff Buntinge.

Although some outdoor professions – like roofers – often take the day off when it gets too hot, Buntinge stays on the job, working through the heat.

“You drink lots of water,” Buntinge said. “It’s the only thing you can do.”

When 300-degree asphalt is put down, differences between 95 degrees and 100 degrees don’t matter, anyway, Buntinge said.

“You deal with it the best you can,” he said.

Buntinge and others may find some relief in the next few weeks. Temperatures are forecasted to drop by a few degrees each day, according to the National Weather Service. By Monday, the air should be about 85 degrees.

Spokane usually sees a spike of high temperatures during the last two weeks of July and the first week of August, Pelatti said. That spike might have already passed.