All wet

COEUR d'ALENE — It was hot and sunny Thursday in Coeur d'Alene, with a high of 82.

Friday, it rained so much it broke a record dating back nearly four decades.

"From one record to another," said Climatologist Cliff Harris. "There is no middle ground."

Harris recorded 1.11 inches of rain Friday as of 4 p.m. at his Player Drive home, and more was coming down. That nearly doubled the previous May 5 record of .56 inches, set in 1983.

"This is even more than what I expected," Harris said.

Most of that rain came down in four hours, averaging a quarter of an inch per hour, he said.

It nearly flooded a section of River Avenue on the North Idaho College campus.

"An inch in four hours is a lot of rain," Harris said.

He said Coeur d'Alene averaged a record high of 84 degrees for the first four days of May, and May 2 saw a record of 87.

Friday's daytime high was 56 with a low of 49.

"What a cool-off," Harris said.

It's already rained 1.27 inches in these first days of May, not far from the normal total rainfall for the month of 2.37.

Harris said a second rainstorm should arrive today and a third should roll in Monday-Tuesday.

He expects it to be cloudy Sunday with some afternoon showers, which is good news for those running in Bloomsday in Spokane.

Harris sees two more heatwaves arriving, the first in mid-May and the second at month's end. In between, it will be cool and wet.

"If people like changes, well, we've got changes," Harris said.