Rainy streak sets record

Spokane recently broke a 109-year-old record for the city’s wettest 30 days in a row.

The city received 6.58 inches of precipitation between Dec. 19 and Jan. 17, according to Paul Bos, a National Weather Service meteorologist. The previous record was 6.56 inches, set in 1897.

Christmas Day was one of only three of those 30 days that were dry during the recent wet spell, Bos said. The wettest day was Jan. 11, when Spokane was drenched with nearly an inch of rain.

Could be worse. Could be Seattle, where a record 13.22 inches fell during a recently ended stretch of 29 consecutive rainy days, the Seattle Times reported.

In the Inland Northwest, the rain is expected to turn to snow, and Spokane could get up to 4 inches by tonight, according to the National Weather Service.

Heavier snow is forecast for parts of Idaho.

A heavy snow warning is in effect for the northern Idaho Panhandle through tonight, with 3 to 5 inches of accumulation in low-lying areas, including Coeur d’Alene, and 6 to 10 inches at higher elevations.

Snow is forecast through the weekend and into early next week, but nothing deep in Spokane or Coeur d’Alene. Temperatures in both areas will range from the mid-20s to the mid-30s.

And along with the snow will come wind gusts up to 25 mph, for a wind chill that could drop to 15 degrees.