Snowier phase of cycle returns to region after one-season reprieve
Our pattern of weather extremes continues across our region and the rest of the world.
Moderate to heavy snows have returned, making this three out of four years with above-normal snowfall totals in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area.
The Inland Northwesthad record snows in November. A record 25.9 inches of snow was measured at Spokane International Airport. In December, 17.1 inches fell, with the majority toward the end of the month. .
Many folks thought that winter was over in January, as only 7 inches of snow was measured. Winter came back in a big way last week. February’s snowfall total was 14.3 inches, with much of that falling since Feb. 23. As of Tuesday morning approximately 65 inches of snow has fallen in the 2010-’11 season. The normal for the season is 45.6 inches. I think it’s a safe bet that we’ll likely end up with at least between 70 and 75 inches of snow at the airport.
In Coeur d’Alene, more than 100 inches of snow has been measured since this winter. The normal is just over 67 inches. This year marks the third winter in the last four that total snowfall in Coeur d’Alene exceeded 100 inches.
Much of the unusual winter weather is still being blamed, at least in part, to the cooler-than-normal sea-surface temperature, La Niña, in the south-central Pacific Ocean. Within the last month La Niña has been showing signs of weakening. In fact, there are isolated areas where ocean temperatures are becoming warmer than normal.
There have been a number of years when the early portion of winter is snowier than normal, the middle of winter is generally dry and we get a lot of snow again toward the end of the season. This pattern is obviously repeating itself.
I do expect snowier weather to persist until at least the middle of this month. Hopefully, the new six-week cycle at the end of March will bring us warmer weather. The early spring still looks a bit wetter than average, but conditions do look much more favorable in April and May.