Weathercatch: A White Christmas? Fa-ha-ha-ha-ha
Nine days ago, it looked as if we had a white Christmas nailed down. Two inches of snow fell in the Spokane area Dec. 11, followed by another inch on Dec. 13 and an additional 2.2 inches on Dec. 15. A thick, scenic layer of snow coated much of the Inland Northwest.
It truly was a winter wonderland.
Yet, here we are on Christmas Eve and the snow has melted. After a spate of warm temperatures, periodic winds and rainfall, our Christmas is shaping up as green-brown, not white.
The mercury began to climb on Dec. 16, reaching a high of 43 degrees by Dec. 19, which is 14 degrees warmer than average for that date. At the start of this week, the weather got even warmer, with highs on Monday notching 50 degrees in the Spokane area and a surprising 60 degrees in the Tri-Cities.
Even so, it was far from lawn-chair weather.
On top of the unseasonably warm temperatures, we had winds and heavy rains that began Saturday afternoon with the arrival of an atmospheric river in Washington state and Oregon. These airborne rivers of moisture that span the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean can lessen droughts and replenish the region’s water supply. But they can also have a downside, such as flooding and power outages caused by winds.
Not surprisingly, the National Weather Service issued watches and warnings for both flooding and high winds on Oregon and Washington’s West Side. In the far eastern portion of our state, rain and snowmelt runoff caused rivers and streams to rise in parts of the Palouse. In addition, wind gusts of 40 mph were recorded around the Inland Northwest. By Monday, the probability of a white Christmas had dropped to nil. The air was damp, our lawns soggy and street gutters puddle-ridden.
Definitely not the kind of weather that Bing Crosby crooned about.
By Tuesday, the atmospheric river had moved out and a cold front moved in. The 50-degree weather that reigned on Monday plummeted to 34 degrees the next day. Cool, dry weather is expected to persist through Christmas Day.
Contrary to what some people think, a white Christmas doesn’t connote a snowfall occurring on Dec. 25. Instead, it means there’s at least an inch of snow on the ground at 7 a.m. – even if it’s old snow, according to the definition by the National Weather Service.
The last time Spokane achieved white-Christmas status was in 2017, when the snow depth in early morning was 1 inch. Later in the day, Mother Nature delivered a bonus gift when plenty of clouds,
moisture and cold temperatures produced another 1.5 inches of snow.
As for Christmas last year? No snow graced the Spokane landscape and high temperatures ran in the upper 30s. It was also cloudy, which is often the case in late December.
Tonight, Santa and his reindeer will want to add warm layers for the Spokane leg of their journey, as overnight temperatures should dip into the low 20s. Fortunately, they won’t have to navigate through wind gusts and rain surges that preceded their visit. Also, Rudolph’s red nose should have no problem lighting the way through thick cloud layers.
For Friday, we can expect seasonably cool and calm conditions, with high temperatures hovering in the mid-30s and a low of 30. And as we awaken to bare ground, maybe we can try to think of it as an off-white Christmas in the spirit of the day.