Spokane region could see thunderstorms Thursday evening after isolated rain, power outages Wednesday

Thunderclouds rumbled quickly through Spokane on Wednesday night, causing power outages and previewing wet weather to end the week.

Avista Utilities reported power outages affecting about 2,000 customers in Spokane Valley just after 7 p.m. Wednesday, as a hot day gave way to storm clouds and thunderstorms.

“There’s a lot of instability in the atmosphere,” said Miranda Cote, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane, on Wednesday night.

The Weather Service issued a special weather statement Wednesday evening warning of strong winds and potential hail. Cote said storms would likely subside overnight, but chances for severe weather ramp back up Thursday and Friday.

A band of thunderstorms will roll into the region Thursday afternoon with the possibility of bringing substantial rains in a quick period, according to the National Weather Service.

With a projected high Thursday that could reach 100 degrees, a low pressure system is approaching the region that could produce thunderstorms later on in the evening, said Daniel Butler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service .

“There is a low pressure system on the California-Nevada border that is slowly moving toward us,” Butler said. “It’s moving north. After that, it kind of falls apart. But another weak system in the Pacific (Ocean) moves in on Saturday and Sunday.”

The low-pressure system should bring moisture and cooler temperatures. The highs for the weekend should be in the low 80s, he said.

Cote said Wednesday night that rain chances were between 40% and 50% for the region Thursday, and 40% to 60% on Friday.

The storms could produce a lot of rain.

“We could receive three-quarters of an inch in an hour,” Butler said. “But, they are hit and miss. It’s not a guarantee.”

The potential for rain follows a designation this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency that made emergency credit available to wheat growers in Washington’s Asotin, Garfield and Whitman counties after those areas met the criteria for extreme drought.

As part of the program, growers in the adjacent Adams, Columbia, Franklin, Lincoln and Spokane counties can also qualify for the emergency loans through the USDA. The same program is available for growers in Idaho’s Benewah, Latah and Nez Perce counties.

That designation, which was announced on Tuesday, follows a year when the Spokane region has experienced below-average rainfall.

Since Jan. 1, the airport has recorded 6.95 inches of precipitation. The normal rainfall for this timeframe would be 9.61 inches.

“So, that’s a 2.66-inch departure from normal,” Butler said.

In June, the airport received 0.13 inches of rain when it typically gets 1.17 inches. In July, the airport recorded 0.07 inches of rain when the normal amount is about 0.4 inches.

That lack of rain has hit farmers, particularly those who planted wheat in the spring, said Casey Chumrau, CEO of the Washington Grain Commission.

“We are fairly well into our winter wheat harvest,” Chumrau said. “In Asotin County, we are hearing some well-below averages. But most places in the state are seeing average- to above-average yields for winter wheat. We are pleasantly surprised with how little rain we did get.”

Those farmers who planted spring wheat have not fared as well.

“We have not started the spring wheat harvest yet,” she said. “But because of the sparse rains, we didn’t have enough moisture for planting. It just never got the rains. We are certainly going to see lower yields for spring wheat.”

She noted that spring wheat makes up about 15 to 20% of the overall wheat crop. “So, it will have less of an impact on our overall production. But that doesn’t make it easier for any individual growers.”

While the low system at the end of this week will provide relief, Butler, the meteorologist, said the break could be short-lived.

“For the month of August, the Climate Prediction Center is calling for a 40-to-50% chance of below-normal precipitation and a 50-to-60% chance of warmer than normal temperatures,” he said.

Kip Hill contributed to this report.