Record rainfall hits Cd'A
<p>GABE GREEN/Press Two horses take shelter from heavy rain Tuesday afternoon in their stalls off of North Meyer Road on the Rathdrum Prairie.</p>
<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Water droplets clings to blades of grass in a field on the Rathdrum Prairie during a break in the rainfall Tuesday.</p>
<p>Photos: GABE GREEN/Press Rain falls on West Wyoming Avenue on the Rathdrum Prairie Tuesday afternoon. Rainfall reached record levels Tuesday.</p>
<p>GABE GREEN/Press Cars drive through heavy rain South bound on Highway 95 Tuesday afternoon.</p>
COEUR d'ALENE - And on Tuesday, the 26th of June, it rained.
And then it rained more.
So much, 1.03 inches, that it swamped the Coeur d'Alene record for that date of .71 set 96 years ago, in 1916.
"I mean, it rained hard," said climatologist Cliff Harris. "We had some localized flooding."
In one 17-minute stretch, .27 inches poured from the sky.
So far, it's rained 5.50 inches in June, easily beating the old record of 5.09 set 65 years ago in 1947. Normal June rainfall here is 1.93 inches.
That brought the annual rainfall total to 26.14, the most ever through June 26, and already almost matching the Lake City's normal year's rainfall of 26.77.
"No wonder the roads are washing out," Harris said. "This is a heckuva lot of water."
Coeur d'Alene could challenge the one-year record for rain of 37.77 set in 1996.
While the forecast calls for some light showers and even thunderstorms later in the week, it should soon begin to be warmer and drier here.
"The worst is over," he said.
In reviewing previous weather records, Harris noted that in most cases following wetter-than-normal Junes in North Idaho, high-pressure systems moved in and July and August were hot and dry.
Which is what he sees for this year, too.
Despite a high of only 54 on Tuesday, it could hit the 80s this week, and the 70s for the weekend and Hoopfest in Spokane.
The 90s, Harris said, are not far away.
"We'll dry out and warm up," he said.