'Drought-buster' brings needed rain

The Coeur d'Alene area received a historic soaking Monday.

Raindrops started falling around 8 p.m., and then the showers turned into a deluge that didn't end until 4 a.m. Tuesday.

Climatologist Cliff Harris recorded 2.11 inches of precipitation in Coeur d'Alene during that eight-hour period. At the Coeur d'Alene Airport in Hayden, Harris said, 2.17 inches were recorded.

The heaviest downpour occurred between 8:45 and 9:05 Monday night, when .67 inches of rain fell in a 20-minute period.

"We had flooding in the lowland areas. You could have taken a canoe down the side streets here, because the water was flowing like rivers," Harris said.

By daybreak on the second day of June, the area had already received more rain than it usually does throughout the entire month. The average monthly precipitation for June is 1.92 inches.

Harris reviewed weather records going back to 1895 and found just one other storm that dumped as much rain on the region. On June 8, 1964, 2.28 inches of rain fell on Kootenai County over eight hours.

"It was a tremendous thunderstorm, but we needed the moisture," he said.

In May, when the area normally receives a total of 2.37 inches of rain, just .96 inches were recorded. April was similarly dry, Harris said.

The annual precipitation amount in the Coeur d'Alene region is currently 14.09 inches, which Harris said is above normal by 1.5 inches.

"There is no drought in my opinion...but as far as drought goes, this rain was a real drought-buster," Harris said. "Because that high pressure ridge that was over us has moved to the east, we're now getting some moisture. June is going to be a wet month."

Harris said another storm is headed this way in about 10 days.

"That also looks pretty promising for us, which will be good for the huckleberries," Harris said.