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

Randy Mann: East and West beset by unseasonal weather extremes

Talk about wild weather extremes. The western U.S. was reporting record warmth and rainfall earlier in the week while much of New England was digging out of more snow.

Within the past month, Boston has reported more than 62 inches of snow, shattering the previous 30-day record of 58.8 inches set in 1978. So far the city has received nearly 77 inches of snow this season. The normal for a season is a little more than 40 inches, and with more snow in the forecast, there’s a chance Boston could get close to its record of 107.6 inches, set in winter 1995-96.

Out West, there’s been record rainfall from Northern California north into the Pacific Northwest this month, bringing seasonal totals to about 25-50 percent above normal in regions of Northern California. However, that area will need even more rain and snow to put a dent in the effects of the drought, and based on the latest computer models, high pressure is expected to rebuild into the Golden State bringing drier weather. And in Southern California, rainfall totals are below normal for the season.

In our part of the country, temperatures have been much warmer than normal with record high temperatures in the 50s reported across Spokane and other parts of the Inland Northwest. As of early this week, the average reading at the airport was about 10 degrees above normal.

Snowpacks have been melting away in the higher mountains, raising concerns for water later in the year. Snowpacks in the mountains across Washington are about 39 percent of normal. There may be snow arriving in this part of the country around the middle of the month, but snowfall totals should remain well below normal levels for the rest of the season.