Weather Eye: Dry July matches record for Vancouver

It was wonderful to have the sunshine back Saturday after a two day hiatus. We managed to quietly end our dry spell Thursday with enough drizzle to be measurable, .04 of an inch. The last measurable rainfall was June 26 so the dry spell ended at 35 days.

However, July did remain dry the entire month and was tied with other years, the latest in 1984. Seattle reported no measurable rain as well and tied their all time record. The last dry July they had was fifty years ago.

The cool and cloudy weather the first two days of August also brought thunderstorms and very heavy rain in eastern Washington. Some cities didn’t even make it out of the 50s. The Spokane area had up to two inches of rain. More than two inches of rain fell along the east slopes of the Cascades between Yakima and Wenatchee.

Fresh snow fell on the highest Cascades Peaks. One news source reported it as the first snowfall of the season at Mount Rainier. Somehow I don’t see how summer can count as the snow season.

Warmer weather, into the 80s, is expected through Tuesday and then near 80 for the rest of the week, with varying amounts of morning low clouds and afternoon higher clouds. A weak trough of low pressure will remain off the coast, so timing of any cloudiness is difficult to forecast this far off. No rain in sight though.

I heard my first cricket of the summer Saturday. Here is the formula for telling the temperature by the number of chirps you hear. Try this with your kids: Count the number of chirps in 14 seconds then add 40 to get the temperature. That is the old standby rule of thumb. I have tried it many times and it is very close.

Enjoy your week!

Patrick Timm is a local weather specialist. His column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at http://weathersystems.com.