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

Randy Mann: El Nino’s effects seen so far

Randy Mann

The abnormal warming of sea-surface temperatures along the equator has played a major role with weather patterns for much of the West Coast over the past several months. When we experience this phenomenon, the Inland Northwest will often see much less snow than normal and California will be hit with major storms. So far, this has been the case.

At Spokane International Airport, we’ve only seen 0.9 of an inch of snow this season, compared to a normal to date of about 14 inches. In Coeur d’Alene, only 2.1 inches has fallen, compared to a normal of about 18 inches.

A storm forecast for early next week could produce some snow if temperatures are right.

Winter officially begins Sunday. Then, the number of daylight minutes starts to climb. Of course, we really won’t notice the longer days for at least a month.

The storms in California have made national headlines in recent weeks. Last week’s was one of the biggest storms in years, and it caused major flooding and mudslides. Despite the heavy rainfall, the state is still in a drought.