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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Weather: Holiday weekend one of extremes in Inland Northwest

It was a tale of two extremes over Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving Day, the temperature soared to 55 degrees, nearly 20 degrees above normal at the Spokane International Airport. That mild reading tied the record, set in 1998 and 1883, for the warmest Thanksgiving day in Spokane’s history. But it wasn’t a record for the date – the warmest Nov. 27 was 57 degrees in 1949.

Temperatures were still in the 50s on Friday as milder air from the south brought rain to the region. The higher mountains were reporting rain instead of snow. This mild system delayed the opening of some ski resorts.

The second half of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend was frigid as high temperatures fell into the 20s on Sunday. Unfortunately for people who are looking for snow, there wasn’t enough moisture to produce much.

The problem with seeing significant snows below 2,500 feet thus far this winter is that we usually have much warmer than normal temperatures during the periods with precipitation.

The good news is that area ski resorts are expected to receive more snow in early to mid-December. We will likely see more rain than snow below 2,500 feet.

Will we see a white Christmas this year on the valley floor? The chances will be around 30 to 40 percent in Spokane and a little higher in Coeur d’Alene that we will have at least an inch of snow on the ground.

Randy Mann can be reached at www.facebook.com/wxmann, or go to www.longrangeweather.com for additional information.