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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

This summer warmer than average – so far

Randy Mann

Last week saw some strange weather across the Inland Northwest. On July 12, it was 89 degrees at Spokane International Airport. The next day it felt like fall with a high of only 63 degrees and showers. About 0.25 inches of rain fell from that particular storm in Spokane, but nearly an inch of rain fell in Coeur d’Alene. Since that brief cool and wet spell, summer weather has returned to our region.

The normal average temperature from June through August is 66.3 degrees. This June was 1.6 degrees warmer than normal, with a reading of 63.2 degrees. So far, July is about 2 degrees above normal.

The warmest average temperature for June, July and August occurred in 1922 with a reading of 71.3 degrees. More recently, 1998 was the seventh-warmest with a summer mean temperature of 69.9 degrees. The hottest month occurred in July 1960 with an average high of 91.5 degrees at Spokane International Airport.

As far as all-time maximum temperatures, Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, Calif., registered a 134-degree reading in early July 1913. That number is still unofficial; a more reliable U.S. all-time heat record was the 131 degrees observed in Death Valley’s Badwater on June 29, 1994.

The highest temperature ever recorded at Spokane International Airport was 108 degrees on Aug. 4, 1961, and July 26, 1928. Aug. 4, 1961, brought a temperature of 109 degrees in Coeur d’Alene. Washington state’s all-time hottest reading was observed on Aug. 5, 1961, when the mercury soared to 118 degrees at Ice Harbor Dam. Idaho’s record high of 118 degrees was set at Orofino on July 28, 1934.

With some of the hottest weather expected between now and the middle of August, fire danger levels will undoubtedly be high. Don’t be surprised to see temperatures approach the century mark in the Spokane area with readings above the 100-degree mark in the Columbia Basin.

Cooler and wetter weather should arrive shortly after Labor Day. Some frosts and freezes may occur in the normally chilly zones of our region by the second week of September, well ahead of schedule and way ahead of last year.

Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrange weather.com.