But by the first week of August, thunderstorms returned and persisted over eastern Washington and north Idaho. The weather culminated on the 6th of August with a few storms reaching severe strengths. These storms produced heavy downpours, small hail and wind gusts to 40 mph. Frequent lightning also lead to countless fire starts. A warm thanks to the many spotters, sheriffs, HAMs, observers and emergency managers who called in with their timely reports.
Ground truth is vital when the weather takes a turn for the worse.
Your reports help the NWS keep public well informed on approaching severe and hazardous weather. The dry and cool weather pattern over the Inland Northwest during the spring continued into the middle of summer. F. All but 8 days in May were colder than normal for the area. The cool spell continued into July. Record low temperatures were set at Spokane on the 3rd and 4th of July with temperatures of 40 and 42 degrees respectively.