Spokane has received about half of the precipitation it normally receives by this time in the summer.
Since January 1, the city has seen only 4.88" of precipitation. The 30-year average is 9.58" for the same time frame. Even so, this year comes in as the fourth driest on record for that time period.“It's behind the 1924 precipitation total of 4.62" from January 1 through July 26," says National Weather Service Meteorologist Greg Cook. He says other dry years include 1985 at 4.78", and 1929, with 4.87".
Cook says August in Spokane is usually dry, and rain usually begins to increase the latter part of September. Thirty-year averages show September usually produces .67" of rain.
November and December are the usually wettest months in the Lilac City, with an average of 2.3" of precipitation each month.