It was a very dry spring of 2025

The first day of summer arrived Friday, June 20, at 4:42 p.m. On that day, the sun angle was the highest in the sky and the Northern Hemisphere experienced the highest number of daylight hours. The exact number of hours and minutes did vary across most towns and cities due to differences in elevation, terrain and proximity within the time zone. For this year, Coeur d’Alene’s longest day was June 20 as we had 15 hours, 59 minutes and 47 seconds of day length. As we move into the summer season, our daylight hours will slowly start to decrease.

The astronomical spring of 2025 in Coeur d’Alene, which began March 20 and continued through June 19, was the driest in history based on Cliff’s records dating back to 1895. For the meteorological spring of March, April and May of 2025, it was also one of the driest in history. The normal precipitation for the three months is 6.07 inches in Coeur d’Alene. This year, only 2.66 inches was measured at Cliff’s station, less than half of normal. In 2021, the 3-month period was slightly higher with 2.80 inches.

Our total precipitation for the season to date is around 8.2 inches in Coeur d’Alene. During the first half of 1929, which was our driest year ever recorded with 15.18 inches, the total was 9.54 inches. The March through May period was wetter in 1929 with 5.16 inches. June’s rainfall in Coeur d’Alene in 1929 was 2.09 inches, considerably higher than the .20 inches for June of 2025.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, we base our seasons on the astronomical calendar, but most meteorologists and climatologists break down the seasons into groups of three months. For example, the meteorological spring includes March, April and May. The meteorological summer began June 1 and will end Aug. 31. The meteorological fall is from September through November, and the winter includes December, January and February.

This system of meteorological seasons makes it easier for scientists and forecasters to calculate monthly and seasonal statistics. They were created for observing and forecasting weather patterns, which have proven useful for agriculture, commerce and other purposes.

Despite the recent spell of cooler weather and much-needed rainfall, June has been a warm month across the Inland Northwest. Average temperatures, including the daily high and low readings, are approximately 5 degrees above average through June 21.

In areas east of the Rockies, the weather has been extremely hot across the Midwest and into the Northeast. Temperatures have been averaging 10-20 degrees above normal levels. A super strong high-pressure system, also known as a heat dome at this time of year, has sent temperatures soaring, with records falling that stood for over 100 years in some of the major cities in the Northeast. Denver, Colo., reported highs over the 100-degree mark with a high of 117 degrees in a few desert locations in the southwestern U.S. last week. Over the weekend, it’s estimated that over 200 million Americans experienced high temperatures at or above 90 degrees, and it is only June. High humidity levels in this part of the country have also led to heat alerts as heat indexes are near the 110-degree mark.

In addition to the very hot weather in the U.S. that is expected to last into next week, much warmer than normal weather is also expected over much of Alaska, parts of Greenland, western Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Seasonal forecasters are still calling for a warmer and drier than normal summer season across much of the Inland Northwest. Looking at the long-range computer models, we could see a few showers at the end of this week, but conditions are still looking to be very dry between now and at least the first 10 days of July. 

The extended period and forecasts of dry weather are not good news for the potential outbreak of wildfires. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the chances for significant wildland fires across eastern Washington and northern Idaho have increased to above normal levels. In July, most of the northwestern U.S., except for the coastal areas of Oregon and Northern California, will have a higher than normal risk of fires. This area expands eastward into the western portions of North and South Dakota in August.

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Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrangeweather.com.