Having experienced abnormally hot temperatures and a minuscule amount of rain in August, one could say we just emerged from the doggiest days of summer.
You may recall that the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center had said the month would be hot and dry across much of the U.S. West, including here in the Inland Northwest.
Talk about a spot-on projection.
In Spokane, temperatures ran 2.4 degrees above average. The most notable spike occurred Aug. 17-18 when the mercury broke into the triple digits and temperatures ran an impressive 17 degrees above normal for those dates.
Over all, the month was 2 degrees warmer than July.
Along with the warmer weather, August brought drier conditions as well. In fact, Spokanites probably don’t recall the last time they saw a good, cleansing rain. That’s because it last occurred June 13 when .24 of an inch fell at Spokane International Airport. After that date, only .05 of an inch fell on July 1, followed by a barely perceptible .02 of an inch on Aug. 6.
With the exception of August 2017 – which saw no precipitation whatsoever – the tiny amount we got this month placed August 2020 among the drier Augusts on record for our region.
But it could have been much worse.
“The weather in the West has gone off the rails,” lamented a Washington Post article published on Aug. 17. The story goes on to describe a crush of long-standing heat records in the region, a barrage of dry-lightning strikes, and wildfires intense enough to produce tornadoes made of flames and smoke.
To be sure, Mother Nature smacked California and the Desert Southwest last month. Here in Washington, it felt more like a poke.
Although hot temperatures and dry vegetation fueled several large wildfires in our state, they were nowhere near the magnitude of those that raged in California. Nor did our air quality plummet to dangerous levels from drifting heavy smoke as it did in other western states.
Fortunately, the Inland Northwest didn’t see a repeat of August 2017, the hottest and smokiest on record. Back then, we faced day-after-day of heat advisories, air quality alerts and red flag warnings for fire danger.
Relatively speaking, we made it through pretty much unscathed.
As for September, even with the change in seasons, it may feel more like summer. Warm temperatures are expected to linger this month, according to the Climate Prediction Center. Also, as leaves on the trees begin to change color we might even see a rain shower or two.
The Link LonkSeptember 03, 2020 at 07:07PM
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/sep/03/weathercatch-august-2020-hot-dry-and-a-poke/
Weathercatch:Arid August: Dry heat settles across region - The Spokesman-Review
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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