Early winter outlook: rainy, warmer

It was one of the colder and snowier outbreaks for so early in the season across much of the United States. According to the National Weather Service, about 50 percent of the country had snow on the ground during that big cold snap in the middle of the month, an event more typical of January or February

Buffalo, New York, was hit very hard with snow as more than 7 feet fell last week. Other areas near the Great Lakes saw as much snow in three days as they do in an entire season, and it’s only November.

As of early this week, that area will be turning much warmer. Temperatures in Buffalo and surrounding regions were forecast to climb to near 60 degrees, melting much of the huge snowpack and leading to widespread flooding.

Amazingly, all 50 states reported temperatures below freezing earlier this month. On Hawaii’s Big Island, Mauna Kea dipped to 31 degrees. Temperatures in the upper 20s were reported in the Florida Panhandle.

Here in the Inland Northwest, we didn’t get the big snows. At Spokane International Airport, as of early this week, only 0.5 inches of snow had fallen. There is a chance we could add to November’s total by this weekend, but much of the moisture is likely to fall as rain in the lower elevations.

Despite the rain and snow pattern below 2,500 feet, there should be plenty of snow in the higher mountains over the next few weeks. This is great news for skiers and snowboarders.

The early winter of 2014-15 still looks wetter than normal across the Inland Empire. But, we should see periods of back-and-forth rain and snow in the Spokane area, which would keep our annual snowfall total below normal for the season.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!