More below normal temperature days still to come

I think we can finally say that spring made its unofficial “late” arrival this past weekend. My back yard thermometer actually surpassed 70 degrees on Tuesday. Warmth was shared in Coeur d’Alene, which registered a high of 70 degrees that day, and in the Spokane Valley, where at Felts Field the high was 71 degrees.

I’d like to put all thoughts of snow behind me, but I know better. Last April, Spokane saw a total of 5.8 inches of snow, and almost half of that fell during the second half of the month. This year of course, April came out of the gate with a good dose of snow, 3.9 inches in the first three days, with similar amounts in Coeur d’Alene.

Although average nighttime lows are now above freezing, we don’t necessarily have to drop below freezing to get snow, and lingering La Niña influences will likely lead to plenty of below normal temperature days like what we experienced in March. Normal afternoon highs during mid-April are in the mid-50s.

While there is still the chance that slick roads or snow can create some hazardous weather conditions, April is usually not a month for major weather hazards across the Inland Northwest. Folks across the southern U.S. are not quite so fortunate. Texas, the northwest section or panhandle in particular, can experience the whole gamut of weather disasters from blizzards, to dust storms, wildfires, and tornadoes all within a couple of weeks!

The rollercoaster in that part of the U.S. began the last weekend of March when a late season blizzard dropped 11 inches of snow on Amarillo, Texas, (located in the panhandle halfway between Albuquerque, N.M. and Oklahoma City).

A week later, temperatures were in the mid-60s, but severe winds as high as 74 mph battered the region which generated a deadly dust storm. Visibilities were reduced to near zero, resulting in numerous accidents along I-40 which caused one death and up to 10 injuries.

Locally, I don’t expect to see much in the way of thunderstorms until June, which is our peak month for that type of activity. Fire weather won’t hit us until July and August. In the meantime, some average April weather would be welcome by most … highs in the 50s and 60s, lows in the mid-30s, and a few April showers (of rain – not snow).