Wet weather may be on its way to North Idaho
LOREN BENOIT/Press Beachgoers soak in rays of sun Tuesday afternoon at City Beach.
LOREN BENOIT/PressCoeur d'Alene residents Kristy Baca, left, and Jessica Cobb walk on The Coeur d'Alene Resort Boardwalk Tuesday afternoon.
LOREN BENOIT/PressA jetskier skips across the water on Lake Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday.
COEUR d’ALENE — Hot and dry, out.
Cool and wet, in.
You’ve likely felt the last sting of 90-degree scorchers, predicts Press meteorologist Randy Mann, with showers looming on the horizon.
“I’ve been saying it and saying it: mid-September,” Mann was saying again Tuesday of the approach of a cool-down with rain. “It’s coming in right on cue.”
Mann said Thursday or possibly Friday, the area might see a shower or two.
“But the one for Monday looks really good,” he said, noting that another storm system is following that one, possibly to arrive mid- to late next week. “I’m still not seeing huge amounts of moisture — yet.”
According to Mann and climatologist Cliff Harris, the summer of ’17 has singed North Idaho with 34 days where temperatures reached 90 or higher. The average is 25 such days, Mann said.
The weather men also documented the paucity of precip: Since June 20, Coeur d’Alene has reported a meager 0.17 inches of moisture.
“We’re finally breaking through that (high pressure) ridge that’s been blocking everything,” Mann said of Mother Nature’s breakdown. “Now we’re going to start dropping. When we get into early next week, you may have to break out the jackets. Some places might see highs in the 50s. The real hot stuff, we’re pretty much done with, I think.”
As he has since the region’s record-setting wet spring, Mann chronicled the astonishing weather extremes North Idaho has endured this year.
“This has been the most extreme weather over our area in the last year not just in the country,” he said, “but possibly in the entire world.”