Late chill may set record
Region usually hits 60-degree mark by now
Statistics are now proving what just about everyone in the Inland Northwest knows: This has been one of the coolest and wettest springs ever.
After record-setting rainfall in March, Spokane has yet to hit the 60-degree mark and is on the verge of breaking the record for latest occurrence of 60 degrees.
Spokane’s highest temperature so far this spring was 59 degrees on March 31.
The National Weather Service says that in nearly 130 years of recordkeeping, the latest date for reaching 60 is April 22, set in 1917.
Even if the temperature reached 60 today – and it probably won’t – it would still be the third-latest date for hitting that benchmark of spring.
Snow and thunderstorms Monday put a wintry exclamation on the April showers.
Partly sunny skies and a 30 percent chance of showers are in the forecast today, with the high reaching the lower 50s.
The chance of rain and snow returns Wednesday night through Thursday and again next week.
“Cooler-than-average conditions have been going on for what seems like an eternity,” forecaster Mike Fries said.
A spring break is expected in time for the weekend, with Saturday expected to be sunny and mild. However, Sunday could be showery, too.
Spokane saw a record 3.25 inches of rain in March, nearly double the normal amount. April so far has seen only 0.48 inches of precipitation.
Snowpack continues to build in the mountains of the region, with the water equivalent in the snow now measuring at 127 percent of normal in the Spokane River basin.
Parts of Western Montana are at 150 percent of normal, while the important irrigation source in the upper Yakima River basin is at 103 percent of normal.
The weather service said that a fast runoff or heavy precipitation later this spring could trigger flooding on some rivers.
Early last week, the Spokane River was running in excess of 20,000 cubic feet per second but had dropped back to 16,900 by Monday afternoon. The river volume typically peaks in mid- or late May when higher elevation snowmelts.