Moses Lake Shatters Rainfall Records to Start July

The Moses Lake area is expected to dry-out after record rainfall in the first seven days of the month.

The city received 1.55 inches of rain in the first week of July, which National Weather Service Meteorologist Laurie Nisbet calls staggering.

"The previous monthly record, so for all 31 days of July, was 1.09 inches, which was set in 1955," said Nisbet. "So just in the first seven days, we're over half an inch above the previous record."

Nisbet says a line of showers and thunderstorms moved into the area and became very isolated over Moses Lake.

"Even Ephrata didn't see as much rain as Moses Lake, which is very close by," Nisbet said. "Ephrata only got about a quarter of an inch, and Moses Lake got an inch-and-a-half, so it was very isolated."

Typically, Moses Lake only gets .26 inches during the month of July.

The National Weather Service says the city got more early July rain than any other area in eastern Washington.

Water over the roadway from heavy rain left the right lane on I-90 closed west of SR 17 in Moses Lake for several hours Thursday afternoon.

Nisbet says all the rain still may not have helped relieve drought conditions in the region, especially because it was largely limited to the city of Moses Lake.

The forecast for the next 10 days shows sunny, dry and warm weather over the entire North Central Washington region.