Memorial Day? Don’t even try to guess
The other night I was reading a bunch of Facebook status updates from my friends in Oklahoma, all talking about hiding in their closets or storm shelter as another round of severe weather hit the area. Soon after, the wind started to howl outside my own window, and I checked the radar to see a line of storms moving through the Inland Northwest.
Some much needed rain fell across the Spokane area (Coeur d’Alene has seen about twice as much precipitation so far this year), but along with it came some damaging winds which knocked out power to several thousand people and downed several trees. Peak wind gusts the evening of May 19 included 53 mph recorded at Felts Field in Spokane Valley, 51 mph in Spokane, 45 mph at Fairchild Air Force Base, 41 mph in Deer Park, and 37 mph in Coeur d’Alene.
This is the third storm in the last six weeks which has included wind gusts over 50 mph! In Winthrop, Wash., the same storm dumped .69 inches of rain in less than two hours, putting parts of Highway 20 underwater. Reports out of Moses Lake are that a weak tornado also touched down that same evening about five miles northeast of the city. According to the storm report, it lifted an old barn into the air and tossed it about 30 feet. So what was the reward for making it through such a crazy weather night? About a week’s worth of showery, much cooler than normal weather.
In fact, about two weeks out of the month so far, have been cooler than normal. While Coeur d’Alene has seen nearly 1 1/2 inches of rainfall so far this month, Spokane is struggling in that department with less than half an inch of rainfall this month (as of the 19th), and an overall deficit of over 1.62 inches for the year. The good news, is that it looks like the showery weather will continue through the days leading up to the Memorial Day weekend. Though typically referred to as the unofficial start of summer, the Inland Northwest is one part of the U.S. that cannot necessarily count on “summery” weather, even at the end of May. Over the last five years, high temperatures during the last few days of May have ranged from the 50s to the 80s. As for now, computer models are leaning toward the cooler side of things for this year, so keep your swimsuit – but also a sweater handy!