The coldest and mildest winters since 1895 in Coeur d'Alene

Last week in 'Gems,' we featured the all-time Coeur d'Alene snowfall records for the past 116 years dating back to 1895. Each season ends officially on June 30.

This time around, we're updating the coldest and warmest winter seasons on record, plus the most frigid winter days since 1895.

COEUR d'ALENE'S 'TOP 10' COLDEST WINTERS (NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH):

1. 1948-49 - 6.4 degrees below normal.

2. 1978-79 - 6.1 degrees below normal.

3. 1949-50 - 5.9 degrees below normal.

4. 1936-37 - 5.7 degrees below normal.

5. 1956-57 - 5.3 degrees below normal.

6. 1968-69 - 5.1 degrees below normal.

7. 1929-30 - 4.8 degrees below normal.

8. 1959-60 - 4.7 degrees below normal.

9. 1962-63 - 4.5 degrees below normal.

10. 1915-16 - 4.3 degrees below normal.

THE 'TOP 10' COLDEST MORNINGS IN COEUR d'ALENE (NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH):

1. -30 degrees on 1/30/1950 (-37 degrees at Hayden Lake).

2. -29 degrees on 2/9/1933 (-35 degrees at Sandpoint.)

TIE -29 degrees on 1/29/1950.

4. -27 degrees on 1/20/1935.

TIE -27 degrees on 2/1/1950 (-30 degrees at Sandpoint).

6. -26 degrees on 1/31/1950

TIE -26 degrees on 12/30/1968 (-35 degrees at Hayden Lake).

8. -24 degrees on 2/10/1953.

9. -23 degrees on 2/2/1950.

10. -22 degrees on 1/24/1949.

THE 'TOP 10' MILDEST WINTERS IN COEUR d'ALENE (NOVEMBER THROUGH MARCH):

1. 1952-53 - 6.6 degrees above normal.

2. 1982-83 - 6.4 degrees above normal.

3. 2002-03 - 5.8 degrees above normal.

4. 1980-81 - 5.5 degrees above normal.

5. 1933-34 - 5.3 degrees above normal.

6. 2009-10 - 5.2 degrees above normal

7. 1966-67 - 5.1 degrees above normal.

8. 1913-14 - 5.0 degrees above normal.

9. 1938-39 - 4.8 degrees above normal.

10. 1998-99 - 4.8 degrees above normal

Our coldest temperature last winter in 2009-10 was -2 degrees on Dec. 8, 2009. It turned out to be our only morning during the entire extremely mild winter season with subzero readings.

As I mentioned last week, we only had a puny 18.4 inches of snow during the 2009-10 season, which was the 9th most snowless winter season since at least 1895.

In recent years, particularly since the mid-1990s, we've seen a series of milder than normal winter seasons across North Idaho and the rest of the so-called 'Inland Empire,' but this season, we should be colder than normal.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

As we expected, the end of October turned very wet and cool with frequent snows in the mountains above 3,000 feet that brought smiles to the faces of skiers, snowboarders and other winter sports enthusiasts alike and frowns to the rest of us.

If the cool, wet 'La Nina' continues to gain strength in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, California and the Desert Southwest will be drier than usual this upcoming winter season.

We, in turn, in the Pacific Northwest, should be cooler than normal with copious amounts of snow, particularly from mid November through mid January.

I wouldn't be too surprised to see at least a half dozen mornings this 2010-11 winter season with frigid subzero readings. It's possible that some of the colder outlying areas may see temperatures plunge to near -20 degrees by the end of December or early January.

In answering a Press subscriber's question, it is possible that the deadly volcanic eruptions in Indonesia earlier this past week, which killed at least three dozen people, plus Thursday's gigantic ash cloud eruptions on Russia's eastern Kamchatka's Peninsula, could lead to additional global cooling problems affecting the already short worldwide food supplies.

Just this week, wheat prices topped $8-a-bushel in the deferreds. July corn in Chicago surpassed $6-a-bushel and July soybeans flirted with $13-a-bushel.

As I've said repeatedly, by late 2011 or early to mid 2012, we could see famine on many continents due to widespread floods and droughts like we saw in 2010, only worse, perhaps of 'Biblical proportions' in parts of Asia and Africa. I'll have more details later.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. E-mail sfharris@roadrunner.com