Thunderstorms could bring bouts of heavy rain Monday night to Spokane

Greg Mason, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
·2 min read

Jun. 14—There is a very good chance thunderstorms will roll into Spokane on Monday night into Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasts show the storms could bring anywhere from a quarter-inch to a half-inch of rain, on average, to the city and the surrounding area, said meteorologist Ron Miller.

While the storms could start as soon as around 10 p.m., Miller said the majority of the activity for Spokane is expected around the early morning hours after midnight. Miller said the storms might continue by sunrise Tuesday in the areas of northeastern Washington and the northern Idaho Panhandle.

"Right now, there's good indications that we could see heavy rain," Miller said. "It may not last very long because these storms will be moving rather rapidly to the north at 40 to 50 mph. You're going to get a burst of rain, a downpour, and it may only last for 15 or 30 minutes or something like that, but you could still get more storms after that."

Meteorologists monitored storms earlier this week to the west in Wenatchee and Omak, Miller said.

Based on those observations, meteorologists are not expecting strong winds with what could come Monday, though there is always the potential for heavy gusts, Miller said. There is also the potential for hail, he said; a storm Sunday night just north of Colville put down a half-inch of hail.

The rain, meanwhile, is expected to dampen the potential for heavy fires out of lightning strikes.

"We did have some fire starts from the storms last night that were near Pateros as well as in Stevens County," Miller said, "but everybody reported that the conditions were so wet with the storms, the fires either put themselves out with the rain or the fire crews were able to get them out very easily because the conditions were damp, at least. ... Any lightning fires started would probably not get away from the first responders very easily."

The rain is not expected to continue later into the week, however.

Tuesday's forecast for Spokane projects a high of 70. Wednesday's high is 73.

Temperatures are expected to return to the 80s later this week.