Weekend rain mildly helps drought
Spokane and Kootenai counties, both in a slight drought at the start of the season, received a little bit of relief over the weekend.
Krista Carrothers, National Weather Service forecaster, said Spokane received 0.49 inches of rain between Sunday and Monday morning.
As of 3 p.m. Monday, Carrothers expected more showers throughout the rest of the day north of Spokane, in the Idaho Panhandle and south toward Pullman, but none in Spokane directly.
There was no official gauge for Coeur d’Alene, but surrounding areas received between 0.94 and 1.29 inches of rain through Monday morning, she said.
Both areas are considered abnormally and moderately dry, and while the moisture helps the drought a little bit, Carrothers said more rain is needed to make up for the entire drought.
Record-breaking heat will hit California on Thursday and will briefly push into the Pacific Northwest on Friday, according to the Washington Post.