Summer has finally arrived in the Wood River Valley, and not a bit too soon.
That's a far cry from the past several weeks. The valley received 5.29 inches of rain during the month of June as measured at the Ketchum Ranger Station on Sun Valley Road. That's the most rain ever recorded in Ketchum in June.
The average June rainfall for Ketchum is just 1.52 inches, based on records stretching back to 1937. Kaiser said the next highest rainfall total for June in Ketchum was 4.40 inches, recorded clear back in 1967.
For the first time in weeks, the National Weather Service is calling for a warm and mostly sunny weather pattern to continue through the rest of the week and into the coming weekend. Except for a slight chance of isolated afternoon thunderstorms, the area should enjoy bright blue-sky days and temperatures worthy of the coming Fourth of July holiday weekend.
"At least for now, it does look like a more traditional summer-like track," said Greg Kaiser, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pocatello.
Kaiser said the record-smashing sogginess had to do with a more southerly, moisture-laden storm track that affected the region for the majority of June. These kinds of conditions are more typical earlier in the spring, he said.
Usually, Kaiser said, the Pacific jetstream has moved on to the north by this time.
The delay kept southern Idaho almost permanently clouded over in June as back-to-back storms pounded the region with heavy rains. And it wasn't just the Wood River Valley that witnessed so much rainfall.
Down in Pocatello, for example, the June rainfall totals broke the all-time high for any month of the year, Kaiser said. Many other spots in southern and eastern Idaho—including Idaho Falls and Burley—saw their highest June rainfall totals ever.
"It was very widespread," he said.
Closer to home in the Ketchum area, the heavy precipitation kept local emergency officials hopping throughout the month as rain-swollen hillsides west of Ketchum began to collapse, sending numerous mudslides across rural Warm Springs Road. At several points, residents of some 25 homes and cabins beyond the end of the pavement were unable to reach Ketchum when large mudflows prevented travel along the gravel road.
Later this week and through the Fourth of July weekend, the weather service is predicting a slight chance of showers, with temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s.
"There may be a chance of thunderstorms through the weekend," Kaiser said.
Jason Kauffman: jkauffman@mtexpress.com
