The miracle of water
Randy Mann.
JAKE PARRISH/Press
April was a drier-than-normal month across the Inland Northwest. At Cliff’s station in Coeur d’Alene, only 0.39 inches of moisture fell, compared to the normal of 1.77 inches. Precipitation totals were a little higher at the Spokane International Airport. Last month, 0.56 inches of moisture was measured. Spokane’s April normal is 1.25 inches.
In terms of snowfall, unless there are some surprise snowflakes, Coeur d’Alene’s final total for the 2023-24 season will end up at below-normal 51.2 inches, which was expected with the warmer El Niño sea-surface temperature event in the waters of the south-central Pacific Ocean. The normal for the season is 69.8 inches. Spokane only reported 32.6 inches, compared to the seasonal average of 45.3 inches.
As I mentioned earlier, ocean waters along the equatorial regions are cooling fast. Some of the long-range computer models, along with forecasters of sea-surface temperatures, are predicting the possibility of the cooler La Niña making its fourth return in five years by late this year. With El Niño’s demise, the chances of more snow across the Inland Northwest during the 2024-25 season are certainly much higher.
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