Coastal extremes converged for floods

On June 10, a trace of snow was reported at the Spokane International Airport. That set a record for the latest date that a trace of snow was observed.

The previous record for Spokane was set June 4, 1901. For Coeur d’Alene, it was the sixth time since the inception of local weather record-keeping in 1895, that there was a trace of snowThe source of the bitterly cold air came from an unusually frigid upper-level storm system from the Gulf of Alaska.

Elsewhere on June 10, the WSU campus in Pullman received about an inch of snow, the only measurable snow for the area ever gauged after May 23. Snoqualmie Pass reported more than 10 inches of snow and several fender-benders, mostly in the early morning hours.

Temperatures that morning dropped into the 30s. At Spokane International Airport, the 36-degree reading was a record low for the date. There were also two record low maximum readings in Coeur d’Alene during the 288-hour span ending June 12 – 48 degrees on June 7 and 49 degrees on June 10. Hardly beach weather.

While much of the Northwest was enduring the unusual chilly conditions, the opposite weather patterns were observed in the eastern U.S. Temperatures in New York, Virginia, the Carolinas and other states in the region were in the 90s. The extreme heat in the East, combined with the colder conditions in the West, led to the heavy rainfall in the central U.S. The onslaught of heavy rains and severe thunderstorms sent rivers over their banks. Iowa is one of the worst states hit with flooding. Residents of Cedar Rapids and Des Moines were evacuated because of the high water. Since Iowa is one of the largest corn and soybean producers in the country, agricultural losses could be as high as $1 billion.

After a relatively cool and wet April and early June, weather conditions in the Inland Northwest are improving. The late June through September period is expected to be warmer and drier than normal, similar to the summers in 2006 and 2007.

There may be a bit more shower and thunderstorm activity than in recent summers, but they will be of short duration, the hit and miss kind of rains that seldom spoil outdoor activities.

I see few afternoons this summer with readings above the century mark, but there will be numerous 90-degree days.

The early fall season may start out drier than normal if a new El Nino, the warmer than normal sea-surface temperature event in the south-central Pacific Ocean, develops as expected. More on that next week.