Spokane has gotten almost no rain lately, and there’s a good chance it’ll stay that way

On social media Saturday, the National Weather Service in Spokane warned of skies “turning stormy.”

“Keep an eye to the sky through the rest of next weekend and early next week,” the post on X read.

Residents may have been surprised when, at least in Spokane, the skies did not deliver.

Spokane has gotten little to no rain in the past few days. Measurements at Spokane International Airport reported no precipitation on Friday, only a trace on Saturday and 0.04 inches Sunday.

Still, the weather service gathers data from a few locations in Spokane, and these measurements do not always present a full picture of the entire area.

“Today there have been some showers in the area, but not directly over those locations,” Miranda Cote, of the National Weather Service, explained Monday.

Laurie Nisbet, also of the National Weather Service, agreed.

“Parts of northeast Spokane County, parts of northern Kootenai County, did not see a lot of rain,” said Nisbet. “And I know that’s a large population of the people who are probably like, ‘What the heck? It didn’t rain.’ But, it rained in a lot of places, maybe just not exactly where you were.”

Indeed, measurements throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho significantly varied.

Colville recorded 0.2 inches in the past few days, and Cheney had a 48-hour total of 0.22 inches. Regional measurements in the past few days included 0.18 inches in Coeur d’Alene, 0.64 inches in Rosalia, and 0.79 inches in Potlatch.

Despite the lack of rain in Spokane, the area has received some moisture in the form of rising humidity. Cote said this helps to bring down the risk of fire, if only a little.

“Even if we don’t have a lot of rain right on top of us now, that increase of just relative humidity will help lessen some of the risk,” Cote said. “But we are still very dry in terms of all the fuels out there, the grasses and such, so those are still very susceptible.”

Guy Gifford, of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, said Eastern Washington and North Idaho can’t let down their guard. Gifford explained that vegetation that fuels fires in the area doesn’t retain moisture, as the fuel is often seasonal and dormant, and therefore doesn’t hold water as living plants would.

“It’s a very minor effect,” he said. “If you had clothes outside and the rain had hit it, the clothes get wet. Then, how quickly do those clothes dry out?”

Depending on whether the region gets a sprinkling or a downpour, “a lot of rain doesn’t even hit the ground, it gets caught up in the tree tops, so a lot of times the ground doesn’t even get wet,” Gifford said.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the whole of Spokane County, and more than 50% of Washington, have been in a moderate drought or worse since the early weeks of July. As for Idaho, about a quarter of the state has been in a moderate drought since last week, with parts of North Idaho having been in a severe drought since early July.

Spokane has a small chance through Wednesday.

“Then,” Cote said, “we dry out again.”