We have a strong El Niño
Graph courtesy of Randy Mann
November is coming to an end later this week and the precipitation figures for Coeur d’Alene and surrounding regions are better when compared to October. As of the weekend, there has been 3.08 inches of rain that has fallen at Cliff’s station. The November normal is 3.07 inches. At the Spokane International Airport, the moisture total for this month stands at 1.87 inches, which is below the monthly average of 2.06 inches.
In terms of snowfall, only 0.3 inches has been measured in Coeur d’Alene. Some of the other parts of the region, such as North Idaho College, did not see any measurable snowfall in November. However, in Spokane, 0.5 inches fell this month taking their seasonal total to 1.6 inches. The total for Coeur d’Alene is only 0.5 inches. In some of the higher mountains, snowfall totals are low with depths around 4-12 inches.
Most of the snow in November has been going to our east. In fact, parts of northern Texas have seen more snow than much of our region. Eventually, Cliff and I believe that the cold air that has been pouring into the central U.S. will eventually back up into the western U.S., even for a brief period. Assuming this occurs, we do expect to have some collisions of the colder air with Pacific moisture to bring some snow to North Idaho. It’s possible this pattern may develop prior to Christmas, but it may hold off until the start of 2024.
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