Cooling, Storms Forecast For Today Typical Summer May Be Just Days Away

Thu., July 30, 1998

By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com (509) 459-5454

Forecasted highs of 95 degrees today and 87 on Friday may sound downright encouraging coming at the close of Spokane’s hottest July in 13 years.

The National Weather Service is predicting a chance of strong thunderstorms later today accompanied by cooling from the Pacific Ocean.

Temperatures Saturday could drop to the low 80s.

The cool-down could bring temperatures that are more typical of an Inland Northwest summer. Computer forecasts call for highs in the mid- to upper-80s Sunday through Wednesday.

Part of the misery this week has been caused by lingering warmth at night.

On Tuesday, the overnight low was 71 degrees. While that’s great for growing tomatoes and cucumbers, it did little to cool buildings.

The region has had 16 consecutive days of above-normal temperatures, including Monday’s spike to 103, the hottest day in Spokane in 26 years.

The last time July was this hot was in 1985, when Spokane set a record with 20 days of 90-degree-plus heat.

If today’s forecast is correct, this July will end with at least 18 days at or above 90 degrees.

During the heat wave, demand for water has soared. Spokane’s water department reported pumping 173 million gallons from its wells on Monday.

The record is 185.3 million gallons in July 1994.

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