April tale of 2 climates for CdA, Spokane

We’re about halfway through spring and it has been noticeably cooler and a bit wetter across parts of the Inland Northwest.

At the Spokane International Airport, the average temperature for April was 46.8 degrees, which was 0.2 degrees above normal. By contrast, at Coeur d’Alene, April was cooler as the temperature was a whopping 5.8 degrees below normal. This was quite a contrast for two areas 40 miles apart.

As far as precipitation, the airport picked up 1.21 inches of moisture, which was 0.07 inches below average. To the east, Coeur d’Alene observed 3.09 inches of rain for April. Normal for April is about 1.75 inches.

Spring has given the region some of the strongest winds of the year.

On Monday, the airport reported wind gusts of 54 mph. Some outlying areas reported more than 60 mph gusts. There were reports of some property damage and power outages due to fallen trees.

After this cool, wet and blustery spring weather pattern, we should finally see a mid-May warm up. Temperatures are likely to return into the 70s, possibly higher.

This is great news for golfers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Then, more showers and cooler temperatures will return to the region.

Another slightly stronger warm spell is expected shortly before the Memorial Day weekend. Then, we’ll once again see more showers and cooler-than-normal temperatures into mid-June. Don’t be too surprised to see an increase in thunderstorm activity when the showers return late in the month as well.

As far as the summer weather patterns are concerned, I’m still expecting a large stationary ridge of high pressure to lock itself over the Inland Northwest between late June and at least mid-September.

If this pattern develops, the Inland Northwest will see less rainfall than usual for the summer along with at least 25 to 30 afternoons at or above 90 degrees. There’s also a good chance that we’ll see at least one or two afternoons this summer approaching or even topping 100 degrees at the airport.

Our current wet and cool period will likely delay the forest and brush fire season for a while, but the expected hot and dry summer and early autumn could result in some major forest fires.