After a very dry start to the calendar year, 2022 has, for many locations across the Pacific Northwest, turned out to be a good year precipitation wise. According to the National Weather Service, since the start of the year, Yakima has received 2.64” of rain, the Tri-Cities has seen 3.69”, while 6.61” has fallen in Pendleton, and Pullman/Moscow has enjoyed 8.47” of rain, with much of that falling in the past six weeks. While those numbers are impressive, meteorologist Marilyn Lohmann said not all locations enjoyed a wet April.

“Unfortunately, down into Central Oregon, the Bend, Redmond area, that High Desert area has only seen about 2” of precipitation since January 1st, that’s about 1”-1 ¼” below normal.  So, while it’s been very beneficial a large number of us, it’s still has had a lot of ‘have nots’ happening as well.”

When it comes to the precipitation, Lohmann says the outlook calls or continued showers during the month of May. And when it comes to those temperatures, she noted it looks like things will warm up as we head into the weekend.

“I think they will be kind of a mix of up and down temperatures, but I think overall I think they will be a little closer to normal as we head out to the 8-14 day period, so there will be some good news in that regard.  We might get soil temperatures getting some sustained warmth, rather than these wild swings that we have every couple of days.”

Are these cool, rainy conditions the work of La Niña? And if so, how much longer will the weather pattern continue to pull the strings here in the PNW?




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