Regional weather dryer, warmer than average
Snow finally returned across the Inland Northwest last weekend. Spokane International Airport picked up 2 inches while Coeur d’Alene received 5.3 inches of new snow from Saturday’s storm. Totals for the season are still far below normal; since the beginning of the snowfall season July 1, only 4.2 inches of snow has fallen in Spokane. The normal to date is about 25 inches.
December is normally our snowiest month, with an average of 14.6 inches. This December ended up with only 3.7 inches. But last year was also very close to what we’re seeing so far this season, with only 6.5 inches of snow reported through the end of December 2013. However, the storm door opened in January and February this year, with 7.1 inches of snow falling at the airport in January and a whopping 17.1 inches in February.
In March, 5.8 inches of snow fell, bringing the final seasonal total for the 2013-14 snowfall season to 37.6 inches. The normal is 44.9 inches. In Coeur d’Alene, 67.2 inches of snow fell last season. Its normal is 69.8 inches.
In terms of temperature, December 2014 was relatively mild, with an average reading of 34.6 degrees. As of early this week, that was more than 7 degrees above normal, but will fall thanks to the frigid temperatures over the past few days. The warmest day in December was 57 degrees, reported on the 10th. Total moisture ended up at 1.97 inches, very close to the December normal of 2.12 inches. For the entire season, Spokane’s total moisture was below normal, with 14.99 inches of rain and melted snow reported. The seasonal normal is about 16.67 inches.
The start of 2015 will certainly be very cold across the Inland Empire and it looks like more snowfall is likely this weekend. For next week, milder air will bring rain and snow to the region. It’s going to be close as we’ll be on the line in terms of whether we get the rain or snow, especially in the lower elevations.
Looking farther down the meteorological road into January, another arctic blast will bring additional snows and much colder temperatures again to the region between January 17-22. Enjoy the late-arriving snows, because spring should arrive early in March, especially if the mild El Niño in the tepid waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean holds on to life.
Happy New Year!