MERCURY RISING

By MIKE PATRICK

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — Ready or not, here comes some serious heat.

Press meteorologist Randy Mann said Monday the chances are “very, very good” the high temperature Friday will reach the century mark for the first time in 2017.

“Basically, the West is absolutely burning up,” he said. “We’re just seeing such extremes. It’s hot in the West and wet in the East.”

Coeur d’Alene didn’t suffer a 100-degree day at all last year. However, according to records kept by local climatologist Cliff Harris, there were four 100-degree days in 2015 — three of them in July that year.

“It was a blistering hot summer in 2015; just ridiculous,” Mann said.

Going all the way back to 1895, the Coeur d’Alene area has seen 47 days of 100-degree temperatures, Harris’ records show. That’s an average of one 100-degree day just about every two and a half years.

The all-time high of 108 was logged half a century ago, on Aug. 5, 1967.

More 100-degree days might be in store for summer 2017, Mann said, with higher-than-average temperatures expected the next couple weeks at least.

He added tinder-dry conditions with winds on Monday are priming area forests for potentially serious fires. Even though he planned to participate in neighborhood festivities today, Mann urged caution to his fellow Fourth of July revelers.

“They’re not going to listen to our advice,” he said with a laugh, but added: “Please be careful with the fireworks.”