Weathercatch: 2022’s weather oddities included amazing clouds and two tornadoes

The Inland Northwest experiences interesting weather during any given year, some more wonky than others. Here’s a look at the weird and sometimes wonderful occurrences that highlighted 2022:

• Off-kilter spring. Talk about calendar confusion. The sun is notably stronger in April than March, but you wouldn’t have known that in 2022. April in Spokane typically runs 8 degrees warmer than March, but the month ran 0.4 degrees colder than March. In fact, April 10-16 marked seven consecutive days when temperatures ran at least 10 degrees colder than normal. Also, no snow fell during March, while 2.1 inches fell in April. April snow flurries are common, but not 2.1 inches.

• Pair of tornadoes. Tornadoes are a rarity in the Inland Northwest, but on May 6, the atmosphere was in a mood. Two twisters dropped from the sky and into the Spokane area just 14 minutes apart. The first tornado touched down at 7:03 p.m. near Airway Heights, snapping power poles and trees. The second struck at 7:17 p.m. in Spokane Valley, tipping several mobile homes, damaging two cars and uprooting trees. The tornadoes were produced by the same storm and generated peak wind speeds of 70-80 mph, according to the National Weather Service Spokane. An average of two twisters touch down in Washington each year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. So yes, two hitting the same region within 14 minutes of each other is a true oddity.

• New cloud in town. Rare asperitas clouds roiled over the Palouse on the evening of May 26. Resembling upside-down rippling ocean waves, asperitas clouds are so rare that they didn’t have an official name until five years ago. Admired by meteorologists and skywatchers alike, their “varying levels of illumination and thickness of cloud can lead to dramatic visual effects,” according to Gavin Pretor-Pinney, author of “The Cloudspotter’s Guide” and founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. Asperitas clouds are formed along weather fronts and near storm systems when atmospheric oscillations send chaotic ripples through layers of low-level clouds.

• Summer arrived late – then came five heatwaves. The Inland Northwest typically enters the hot, dry season in June. Instead, we saw unseasonably cool, wet conditions during the month’s first half. On June 13, not only did 0.72 inches of rain fall in the Spokane area (the average is 1.18 inches for the entire month), but the high temperature only reached 51 degrees. It wasn’t until June 22 that the high temperature finally reached 80 degrees for the first time. (We usually see our first 80-degree day in mid-May.) Then, June 26-28 marked the first of five heat waves, with four more occurring through August. Consequently, that month became the hottest August recorded in at least 10 locations, including Spokane, Republic and Omak in Washington, and Bonners Ferry and Lewiston in Idaho.

Nic Loyd is a meteorologist in Washington state. Linda Weiford is a writer in Moscow, Idaho, who’s also a weather geek. Contact: ldweiford@gmail.com.