Record September rain ends historic summer dry spell

Following Monday’s 1.12 inches of rain in Coeur d’Alene, Cliff Harris had something to say.

“I am officially announcing the drought is over,” the climatologist said.

He said the season has gone from the driest summer on record and high fire danger to the wettest September on record and low fire danger.

“We went from dry, brown grass to puddles everywhere,” Harris said.

For all of June, July and August, it rained just .26 of an inch in Coeur d’Alene. That broke the previous record-low rainfall for that time period of .55 set in 1929.

Already in September, Coeur d’Alene has received 1.48 inches of rain, a dramatic difference from last September when the first three days of the month were triple digits.

No thunderstorms have occurred this summer, which Harris said is very unusual.

Harris said the 1.12 inches of rain that fell through Monday late afternoon broke the record of .5 for that date set in 1978.

Rainfall total for the year so far is 10.82 inches, well above last year's 8.35 inches for the same time in Coeur d’Alene.

Harris expects more rain this week as the effects of a strong El Niño continue to be felt in North Idaho.