Precipitation still below normal
It has been surprisingly dry for the first half of our fall season. Though beneficial rains totaling .22 inches began falling in Coeur d’Alene this past Wednesday morning, we had seen only .02 inches during the previous 16 days.
Normally, Mother Nature ratchets up the rainfall during the months of October and November – bringing relief from what is usually a pretty dry summer. This summer, of course, was drier than usual, and below normal rainfall for the month of October makes for seven straight months of below normal precipitation. We are currently nearly 4 inches below normal in precipitation for the year. It does look like we have turned the corner weatherwise, however, into a cooler season pattern which may include some snow for the lower elevations this coming week.
La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pacific still hold the promise for a potentially cooler and snowier winter. La Niña is part of the weather phenomenon called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation or ENSO. The word oscillation is used because conditions in the equatorial Pacific oscillate, or go back and forth between warm events – El Niño – and cold events – La Niña. Interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere have an impact across the globe, causing wind shifts that can result in torrential downpours and flooding on one continent, and parching drought on another. Changes in the overall jet stream pattern across the Northwest – affected in part by ENSO, can mean that greater or fewer storm systems impact the inland northwest. One thing to always keep in mind, however, is that ENSO does not singlehandedly control our weather future and that La Niña events can vary in intensity, resulting in varying impacts in our part of the country. That being said, the Climate Prediction Center still forecasts above-normal precipitation in North Idaho for the November-January time period. Even if we see average winter temperatures in the area, that should mean good news for skiers and snowboarders.
Even with copious snow amounts during the coming winter season, one thing you might possibly notice is that fewer winter storm warnings and advisories will be issued by the Spokane and Missoula National Weather Service offices. The agencies previously would issue winter type warnings for locations up to 6,000 feet. Realizing that heavy snow and/or hazardous conditions affected relatively few people at those elevations, they have decided to concentrate on providing timely watches, warnings and advisories to those locations at elevations of 4,500 feet and below in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. One exception will be Sherman Pass, elevation 5,575 feet, in Eastern Washington just west of Colville. The weather service will continue to provide winter warning information for that zone.
One season that will be coming to a close at the end of the month is hurricane season. On Oct. 27, Noel became the 14th named storm in the Atlantic. Noel strengthened to a category 1 hurricane in early November before dissipating, which made it the fifth hurricane of the season. Earlier in August, the National Hurricane Center predicted a 2007 season with 13 to 16 named storms, seven to nine hurricanes, and three to five major hurricanes (category 3 or greater). As of mid-November, there have been two major hurricanes, Felix and Dean, which both reached category 5 status. Neither of those major hurricanes struck the U.S.
One final funny story for those folks who have their own backyard weather stations. Don’t believe everything it tells you. In San Angelo, Texas, recently, rain was being reported at one of the government-run automated weather stations. With no rain in the area, techs were sent out to investigate. Apparently, a large group of Texas-sized spiders were making their home in the rain gauge, causing it to report precipitation. I guess you could say it was raining arachnids.