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

Snow total far below normal

There was record-breaking precipitation Saturday: 0.63 inches of rain and melted snow fell at Spokane International Airport. The old record was 0.54 inches set in 1958.

With rainfall Friday and Sunday as well, our total for the year is 1.74 inches, ahead of the normal to date of 1.5.

And though we’ve had rain, snow totals are below normal in the lower elevations, thanks to the warmer-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the equatorial regions. So far this season, 12.2 inches has fallen, compared to a normal of about 31 inches.

The latest sea-surface temperature data indicates that ocean waters near the equator are cooling to normal levels. Right along the South American coastline, readings are actually near to slightly below normal levels with larger pools of cooler than normal waters to the south.

There is still a tremendous amount of warm sea-surface temperatures right along the U.S. West Coast into the Gulf of Alaska that may keep the milder weather pattern in place across our region. The next system toward the end of the month is expected to bring us more rain than snow.

With the change in ocean waters, don’t be too surprised if we see normal snowfall across the region later in February and early March. Right now, weather patterns seem to be pointing to a nice spring season across the Inland Northwest. Stay tuned.

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