Weather patterns see severe changes
No one is arguing that our weather patterns have become more extreme in recent years. Even here in the Inland Northwest, we’ve recently seen a wide fluctuation in both temperatures and the amounts of precipitation in short periods of time.
Weather records across the United States and the world are falling on a daily basis. Many scientists blame the extreme weather patterns on global warming. There is also evidence to suggest this global pattern may be one that occurs approximately every 500 years. Tree ring data, ice core samples and other methods for measuring ancient temperature and precipitation patterns indicate this particular cycle of wide weather extremes may be the worst in more than 1,000 years.
Despite the large number of weather records falling, most of the all-time local and global temperature and precipitation records have remained intact for many years. Some of the data goes all the way back to the 1800s.
For example, the lowest temperature ever observed in Spokane was minus 30 degrees. This occurred on Jan. 15 and 16 in 1888. In Coeur d’Alene, the thermometer dropped to minus 30 degrees on Jan. 30, 1950. The coldest reading ever observed in the U.S. and North America occurred a bit more recently, Jan. 24, 1989, as the mercury in McGrath, Alaska plummeted to a minus 86 degrees. On Aug. 24, 1960, Vostok, Antarctica, in the Southern Hemisphere, plunged to minus 127. Now that’s cold!
As far as warmth, it seems like we’re breaking heat records every day. The highest temperature recorded at the Spokane International Airport was 108 degrees on Aug. 4, 1961. It was 109 degrees in Coeur d’Alene on that same day.
Although these are hot temperatures, they don’t compare to the 134 degrees measured in Death Valley, Calif. on July 10, 1913. On Sept. 13, 1922, the highest temperature ever recorded on our planet was 136 degrees at El Azizia, Libya on the African continent.
As our climate continues to change, we’re also seeing more droughts across the globe. In Spokane, the driest calendar year was in 1929 as we only received 7.54 inches of precipitation. The normal is more than 16.5 inches. Coeur d’Alene only measured 15.18 inches, also in 1929, compared to a normal of more than 26 inches of moisture. It’s hard to believe, but no measurable moisture was gauged in Iquique, Chile from November of 1945 to May of 1957, a tremendous dry spell that lasted for about 11.5 years.
One of the most amazing statistics is the highest precipitation. From August, 1860 through July of 1861, Cherrapunji, India recorded an incredible 1,041.78 inches of rain, an all-time global record. That’s an average of 2.85 inches per day!
In Spokane, the most we received in one day was 2.22 inches on June 7, 1888. The 24-hour record in Coeur d’Alene was an amazing 4.5 inches gauged on Dec. 21, 1996, the year of the big floods. The most precipitation the Spokane International Airport recorded for an entire year was 26.07 inches back in 1948. Coeur d’Alene measured its all-time annual high precipitation total of 38.77 inches in 1996.
As summer officially begins today at 11:06 a.m., I don’t expect temperatures to break all-time record levels in the Inland Northwest. However, the pattern of hot and dry weather across our region should arrive by late this month or early July. Another round of big heat is also expected in late July or early August. Temperatures may soar into the 90s and near the 100-degree mark during these times.
Most of July, August and early September will likely be quite warm, even hot at times, with limited precipitation, mostly resulting from scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms.
The fall of 2007 may turn wet and cool again, especially if the current La Nina sea-surface temperature event in the Pacific Ocean waters gains strength or even maintains its current level of intensity off the west coast of South America. Stay tuned.