POST FALLS - Torrents of water flooded the streets of Post Falls, Liberty Lake and Spokane Valley Thursday night, but the rest of the region saw hardly any rain.

Climatologist Cliff Harris said he only measured eight-hundredths of an inch of rain at his Coeur d'Alene home, while some parts of Post Falls received nearly a half inch of rain during the brief storm.

"There was really nothing unusual about that storm," Harris said. "These are going to be scattered around through the end of June."

Harris said the thunderstorms will bring much needed moisture to the area. He said the weather patterns are a result of the El Nino weather pattern that has settled into the Pacific Northwest.

Harris said El Nino will push a lot of this summer's moisture into Texas and Oklahoma, and the Pacific Northwest will get much less than it normally does.

While Harris disagrees that Idaho is in a drought situation, he said the month of May only received about half of its normal rainfall.

"But we have been getting some rain lately," he said. "And that should continue."

He said Thursday night's storm was concentrated in Post Falls and eastern Spokane.

Harris' counterpart in Green Acres, Michelle Boss, said she got .017 inches of rain from the storm, and the Tullamore Estates area of Post Falls received 0.4 inches.