Weathercatch: Not long ago, April 20 felt like July 20 – definitely not this year

Seven years ago Thursday, the temperature surged to 85 degrees in Spokane.

That April 20, 2016, heat broke a city record for that date. That same day, the temperature was 86 degrees in Lewiston, 82 in Pullman, 88 in Yakima and just 1 degree shy of 90 degrees in the Tri-Cities.

Overall, April 2016 was exceptionally warm across the Inland Northwest. In fact, on some days, temperatures got as warm here as in Los Angeles and Miami. Spokane County Master Gardeners reported that the stretch of heat pushed plant development ahead by about three weeks. It also caused an early release of tree pollen.

What was responsible for this rare summery warm-up? Two unusually strong (for mid-spring) ridges of high pressure parked themselves over Eastern Washington during the month, and there was also a warm southerly air flow. Temperatures ran above normal on 25 out of 30 days. Eleven of those days ran at least 10 degrees warmer than average, with April 20 and April 21 running nearly 20 degrees warmer.

April 2023 is another story. No abundance of warm sunshine here. As you may recall, snow records were set the first week of the month when it snowed on April 1, 2 and 3. More measurable snow fell again on Friday. While the average snowfall amount during April stands at about one-half inch, so far this month we’ve received 2.9 inches. With above-average snowfall, below normal temperatures and plenty of clouds, it’s been a taxing month for the winter-weary.

Unlike April 2016, there’s no strong upper-level ridge to lock in warm, dry air and divert storm systems this month. The warmest temperature we’ve reached is 63 degrees on April 9. Early Wednesday, a swath of the Inland Northwest extending from Lewiston to Moses Lake and Wenatchee was under a freeze warning. Sure enough, some residents awoke to see a layer of frost on their cars and lawns.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center outlook hints at a slightly cooler pattern in our region through April 30. So it seems likely that we won’t hit our first 70-degree day until sometime in May. As for hitting 85 degrees? We’ll revisit that hot topic in June or July.