The miracle of water

April was a drier-than-normal month across the Inland Northwest. At Cliff’s station in Coeur d’Alene, only 0.39 inches of moisture fell, compared to the normal of 1.77 inches. Precipitation totals were a little higher at the Spokane International Airport. Last month, 0.56 inches of moisture was measured. Spokane’s April normal is 1.25 inches.

In terms of snowfall, unless there are some surprise snowflakes, Coeur d’Alene’s final total for the 2023-24 season will end up at below-normal 51.2 inches, which was expected with the warmer El Niño sea-surface temperature event in the waters of the south-central Pacific Ocean. The normal for the season is 69.8 inches. Spokane only reported 32.6 inches, compared to the seasonal average of 45.3 inches.

As I mentioned earlier, ocean waters along the equatorial regions are cooling fast. Some of the long-range computer models, along with forecasters of sea-surface temperatures, are predicting the possibility of the cooler La Niña making its fourth return in five years by late this year. With El Niño’s demise, the chances of more snow across the Inland Northwest during the 2024-25 season are certainly much higher.

In the meantime, rain showers with high mountain snows are likely early this week before conditions turn dry. As we get closer to the middle of May, the chance of more wet weather is higher as a series of Pacific storms are expected to move into our region. From the middle of May through at least early June, the weather patterns are pointing to periods of sun and showers along with scattered thunderstorms. Later in June, which has been the case for most years since 2000, the weather across the Inland Northwest is likely to turn much drier than normal.

It’s still early, but we could have some very warm to hot weather in late June, late July and around the middle of August. Stay tuned.

Over the years, I have presented numerous articles about precipitation and water usage. When I was teaching science, one topic typically discussed was our planet and water. The Earth has been referred to as the “water planet,” or “blue planet” due to the large bodies of water. It’s estimated that over 70% of our planet is covered with water and according to the U.S. Geological Survey, it’s estimated there are over 332 million cubic miles of water on Earth.

Amazingly, only 3% is freshwater, as the rest is saltwater. Most of the freshwater is found in glaciers, ice, rivers, lakes and underground. The USGS reports that as of 2015, our country uses about 322 billion gallons of water per day. Most of the usage is from irrigation, followed by thermoelectric power and public supply. The average person in the U.S. uses about 50 gallons per day.

We know that water is essential for life. It helps to regulate the temperature of Earth as well as lifeforms, including the human body. The human brain and a living tree are composed of around 75% water.

Scientists indicate that water is one of the most abundant molecules in the universe. In late 2015, a study showed that “liquid water in the Solar System outside Earth is 25 to 50 times the volume of our planet’s water.” Missions to Mars have shown that bodies of this liquid likely once existed on the Red Planet, but the water now is stored as ice. However, the Martian surface may have some isolated and extremely small areas of liquid water. There is evidence to suggest that liquid water may exist beneath the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Geysers of water have been spotted on Saturn’s moon called Enceladus. There is also evidence that a subsurface ocean may have once existed on Pluto.

In terms of how our planet received its water, there have been many theories to explain it. The most popular ones include that our planet was formed with the molecular precursors of water that were already present. Another theory is that space rocks, such as asteroids and comets that contained this liquid bombarded Earth after its formation. Scientists have analyzed meteorites and have discovered tiny drops of saltwater within them. It would be almost impossible to comprehend all of the meteorites and comets crashing into the Earth to create the oceans of today, but it’s certainly a possibility. Perhaps it’s a combination of both theories on how our oceans were formed.

Water is always being recycled and can’t be created or destroyed. According to the EPA, research indicates that we have the same amount of water today as when the Earth formed. Therefore, it’s possible that the water we consume today may contain the same molecules that the dinosaurs drank, or perhaps it’s the same water that was enjoyed by other famous historical figures.  

On another note, I would like to wish Cliff Harris a very happy 82nd birthday. He’s still going strong and continuing to monitor our weather.

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Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrangeweather.com.