Could we have the driest year since 1929?
Randy Mann.
JAKE PARRISH/Press
It was a dry April across the Inland Northwest. Only 0.54 inches of rain fell at Cliff’s station in Coeur d’Alene last month, compared to the average of 1.77 inches. At the Spokane International Airport, April’s precipitation total was just 0.39. Their April normal rainfall is 1.25 inches. Our seasonal total in Coeur d’Alene thus far is 7.71 inches. The normal rain and melted snow at this time of year is about 10 inches.
We believe that May is a “key” month to determine if we’re going to have a continuation of drier-than-normal weather across the region. Currently, the long-range computer models are predicting an increase in rainfall toward the middle of the month. We have noticed the forecasts of additional storms moving into the Inland Northwest were expected as soon as late April. However, many of these storms that were expected to produce some decent amounts of rainfall have not been as strong due to a strong ridge of high pressure over the western states that has led to drier-than-normal conditions.
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