Latest news with #LaurieNisbet
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
March heat breaks records over a century old across Inland Northwest
Mar. 26—The balmy weather this week brought about a change to the record books across the Inland Northwest. Daily high, monthly high and high low records were broken Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as Eastern Washington and North Idaho experienced their warmest days of 2025, said Laurie Nisbet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Spokane office. The Lilac City reached its highest-recorded March temperature Wednesday as temperatures hit 75 degrees, according to a 5 p.m. reading of the National Weather Service's equipment at Felts Field Airport. That replaces a 144-year-old record for the month of 74 degrees, the previous record daily high of 67 degrees set in 1946 and follows a Tuesday high of 70 degrees, which was one degree shy of matching the new daily record. "Yes, records go back that far," Nisbet said. The Palouse saw records break in Lewiston and Pullman, with the former setting a new monthly record for the warmest low temperature and daily high recorded at the municipality's airport. Lewiston's Monday low of 55 degrees broke the previous record of 53 degrees set on March 31, 2011. The high of 80 recorded in Lewiston on Wednesday set a new daily record high, beating the previous record of 76 degrees set in 1960. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Lewiston's high was on track to match the monthly record set in 1923, Nisbet said. The weather service is expected to make an official call on whether a new record was set after 1:30 a.m. Thursday. Temperatures in Pullman broke the college town's record high for March set in 1960 by 2 degrees, hitting a peak of 75 degrees as of 5 p.m. That figure will also serve as the new daily record high for March 26, passing the 79-year-old benchmark of 65 degrees set in 1946. Across the border in Coeur d'Alene, the daily high record was matched at 70 degrees, still a few degrees short of the monthly record of 73 degrees, Nisbet said. "It's not going to be this warm much longer," Nisbet said. "The warmth has reached its peak, and now we are cooling down." Intense storms converged on the Pacific Northwest Wednesday evening, with areas west of the Cascades expecting severe thunderstorms, hail, wind gusts greater than 55 mph and a decent amount of rain. Nisbet said most of the action was concentrated in central Oregon, along the coast and in southwest Washington as of 6 p.m. Wednesday. Although the Inland Northwest will be mostly spared by the weather pattern, the weather service is still expecting a small chance of thunderstorms, wind gusts and hail as large as an inch in diameter to stretch into early Thursday morning. Spokane residents, and those in town for the NCAA March Madness games at the Spokane Arena, will likely have to contend with rain for most of Thursday and Friday, with high temperatures in the mid- 50s to low 60s. Saturday's forecast calls for a similar high temperature and a reduced chance of rain. As of Wednesday, Sunday is shaping up to be a clear day, with temperatures climbing back up to the low 60s, according to the National Weather Service.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Weekend rain could lead to slush and floods after snowstorms in Spokane area
Feb. 21—The Spokane-area winter will officially transition this weekend from snow-and-cold to warm-and-wet. A wave of weather systems will bring rain Saturday, Sunday and Monday into Tuesday that should bring up to an inch of rain. In addition, periods of breezy conditions early in the week, coupled with thawing wet soils, could cause some trees to uproot. "Our soil temperatures will be inching above freezing," said Laurie Nisbet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "With super-saturated ground, and breezy conditions, there could be some concerns for tree damage on Tuesday." Pushed by a weather system coming in from the Pacific Ocean, the lows starting Saturday will remain higher than normal and above freezing in the Spokane area, Nisbet said. "The high temps will be in the 40s to around 50, maybe above 50 in some of the lower parts around Spokane," she said. Rain will also come in shifts, along with periods of wind. Those breezy conditions are projected to bring gusts as high as 20 to 30 mph over the weekend and as high as 35 mph on Tuesday, she said. "We will see three different waves of rain. The first is Saturday, then the second is Saturday evening through Sunday," Nisbet said. "Then there's a break Monday morning, and the third system comes Monday afternoon through Tuesday." Spokane could get about an inch of rain, with 1.4 inches forecast for Coeur d'Alene and 1.25 inches in Deer Park, she said. The snow level is rising to about 3,500 feet on Saturday and 5,500 feet on Sunday, with most area mountains getting rain, as well. The system should also hit the Palouse with similar amounts. Nisbet noted that Paradise Creek, which flows from Moscow, Idaho, to Pullman, is projected to reach flood stage. On Friday, the city of Moscow Public Works Department sent a news release saying that city officials were monitoring Paradise and Hogg creeks and the South Fork of the Palouse River with the upcoming warm and wet weather. They asked residents to watch for lowland flooding and clogged storm drains in certain areas. Nisbet said the same conditions could lead to problems in Spokane. She noted that Spokane International Airport still had 7 inches of snow on the ground as it entered the weekend. "So, with the warm temperatures and breezy winds, it's going to eat away all of the snow on the ground," she said. "Not only are we going to get three-quarters of an inch of rain, but we will have all that melting snow added to it as well. "That's getting closer to 2 inches of water. That raises concerns for low-lying fields and drainages. If you have storm drains that are blocked from pine needles, it could cause problems." Water gathering on roadways may cause added hazards because drivers will not be able to avoid hidden potholes, Nisbet said. The rainfall will add to a region that remains about 3 inches above average for moisture this time of year. "I would say after this event, we will continue to be well ahead on rainfall for our area," she said. "We'll know the final numbers next week."
