Inland Northwest Hay Weather

In a previous blog I mentioned that April is sort of between the two wet seasons in the Inland Northwest.  So on average, April is drier than March and May. But this April seems a bit drier than normal. Is that true? Well, the short answer is yes. Here’s a look at the percent of average precipitation across the lower 48 states for April thus far. Easy to see how the entire West has been drier than normal this month. A closer view of the Northwest shows that only a small area from Tri Cities to Ritzville is running wetter than normal, thanks to our big rain event around the 7th.  But memories are typically short. So most of us have probably forgotten the wet events in early April. Here’s the daily precipitation at Deer Park for April. The green line is the actual precipitation, while the brown line is the normal.  You can clearly see the wet event we had on the 7th, which took us briefly above normal. But since then, we’ve seen very little rainfall and we’re now more than ...

In the past blog it appeared that this upcoming weekend would be cooler and showery. But the past few days the computers have been altering that idea. It now appears likely that the storm coming in from the Pacific will go too far south to bring us any rain. We might see a few mountain showers on Sunday, but that’s about it. Instead we will see temperatures continuing to warm, reaching the mid 70s for Friday and Saturday, and probably even Sunday.  The next decent chance of rain won’t be until Tuesday. This does not look like a very wet weather system, and isn’t a slam dunk that we will get much at all. Below is the forecast from the European computer models. Maybe around 0.1”? After that, Friday would be the next chance of rain. Similar to Tuesday, rain is not a sure bet for Friday. And if we do get any rain, it will be on the light side.  Looking into the start of May, temperatures look to be on the mild side. Here’s the outlook from the Climate Prediction Center. They do sh...

Here’s an Inland Northwest weather fact that you may not be aware of. On average, April is drier than March and May. We all know that in the Northwest, winter is the wet season while summer is the dry season. But the transition from the wet to dry season isn’t a smooth one.  The bar chart below shows the average precipitation each month in Spokane. You can see that the height of the green bar for April is shorter than March or May.  In fact, June is almost as wet as April, on average.   The reason for this is that there are actually two wet seasons: winter and late spring.  Winter is the season for strong Pacific storms.  By late spring (May and June), instability showers and thunderstorms become more frequent.  But the big rain events in late spring are often due to a weakening jet stream that is migrating northward, allowing slow-moving storms to dump rain on us.   It’s worth noting that this pattern extends to other places east of the Cascades, incl...

Just wanted to give you a quick heads up about the wind tomorrow (Wednesday). A dry cold front will move through the region late tonight and early Wednesday morning. This front will be dropping down from northwest Canada and Alaska.  These kinds of fronts can often be windy.  But unlike most of our wind (which comes from the southwest or northeast) these winds will be coming from the northwest.   Below is the forecast peak wind gust during the afternoon from the European model.  Wind will begin during the morning hours and peak during the afternoon.  Gusts to 45 mph are possible, mainly in the Okanogan valley and in the Basin. Quiet weather should finish out the week with a small chance of afternoon showers on Thursday.  Easter Sunday still looks like a decent chance of showers with a high in the upper 50s.

Just a quick blog to update you on some rather chilly nights we will see the next few nights. Today (Friday) should be mostly sunny and mild. A good day to be outdoors, albeit a little breezy at times.  Saturday will start off chilly. Temperatures could below freezing in some spots. It won’t get very warm during the day. And it will feel even colder than the thermometer says. Much drier air will be moving into our area during the day. That will make the wind feel very cold. Add to that, clouds and showers will develop during the late morning and afternoon.  Our atmosphere will be unstable enough (coupled with the cold dry air) that I wouldn’t be surprised if a few showers have some graupel (snow pellets).  Here’s the European model forecast precipitation. It’s worth noting that the European model is one of the wetter forecasts. Other forecasts only have a few showers in the northern Panhandle.   The dry air that moves in on Saturday will allow the temperature to drop...

After a quick warm and dry spell, the rain will return tonight (Sunday night). Nothing really exciting, just a wet cool front. The rain should end by Monday morning, and after a short break, we will see afternoon showers.  Here’s what the National Blend of Models anticipates for rainfall totals. About 0.1” in the Basin, 0.2” in the northern valleys and Palouse, and maybe 0.3” in some spots.   Tuesday will start off dry, but afternoon showers are a sure bet. Wednesday will see a few afternoon showers over the northeast Washington area.  Thursday looks dry. Another weak front will bring us light rain Thursday night, with afternoon showers Friday through Sunday, mainly over northeast Washington. The other weather feature of note will be the wind.  Spring is typically a breezy time of year, and with each frontal passage this week comes some pretty gusty afternoons.  Here’s the ECMWF prediction for peak wind gust on Monday afternoon. 25 to 40 mph over much of the are...