Last week was one of the snowiest on record in North Idaho

When it comes to North Idaho snowfall, we seem to be either 'bare' or 'buried,' a 'feast' or 'famine' situation to say the least.

For example, during the seven-week period from late November through mid January, I measured only 6.3 inches of the white stuff in my backyard on Player Drive. This was the least snowfall ever gauged in Coeur d'Alene during December and the first half of January since the inception of local area weather record-keeping in 1895. The previous record was 8.8 inches in the same period during the 'open' winter of 1943-44 during World War II.

As of noon this past Monday, Jan. 16, only 0.8 inches of snowfall had fallen in town since Jan. 1. Then, came my long-predicted "knock your socks off" mid January four-day dump of snow that more than DOUBLED our seasonal snowfall total as of early Saturday. We went from a puny 17.2 inches of snow for the winter of 2011-12 on Monday to 39.8 inches by 10 a.m. on Saturday when I wrote this article. Our 117-year seasonal normal to date on Saturday for Coeur d'Alene stood at 42.4 inches. Last winter, on Jan. 21, we had gauged 79.1 inches of snow for the 2010-11 season that went on to produce a whopping 121 inches by the June 30 end of the season, again nearly double the total seasonal snowfall norm in town of 69.8 inches.

Since our "sun went silent" in 2007, we've had a range of winter snows from a low of 18.4 inches in 2009-10 to our snowiest winter season ever in 2007-08 at an incredible 172.9 inches (Remember all the building collapses?).

I still believe that we will finish this current 2011-12 winter season with a near-normal snowfall total of 62 to 70 inches. But, if February and at least early March are snowier than usual, we could end up with 80 inches or more in Coeur d'Alene and upwards of 100 inches in the snowier areas to the north from Athol to Bonners Ferry. Only time will tell.

We had measured, as of 10 a.m. on Saturday, 23.4 inches of snow during this January. If we receive another 10 to 12 inches of snow during the last 10 days of the month as expected, we could top 35 inches in Coeur d'Alene. Our normal January snowfall for an entire month is 21.4 inches. Stay tuned.

Next week in 'Gems,' Randy Mann will have a complete sea-surface temperature update on 'La Nina,' plus a solar (sunspot) report and a related ocean temperature chart.

CRITICAL FUEL SUPPLIES FINALLY REACH NOME, ALASKA

Alaska, as we mentioned last week, has had one of its harshest winter seasons in decades in 2011-12, undoubtedly the result of the cool, wet "La Nina" in the Pacific waters.

More than 20 feet of snow has fallen since late October at places like Valdez and Cordova. Ice has frozen to more than four feet thick in central Alaska, where temperatures have dipped to as low as minus-63 degrees Fahrenheit in recent weeks.

A massive blizzard in November in western Alaska prevented the city of Nome from getting its normal last pre-winter barge delivery of gasoline and diesel.

For the first time ever during the middle of winter, a Russian tanker, the Renda, after a 5,000-mile journey, off-loaded more than a million gallons of fuel to Nome, which has been totally iced in for more than six weeks.

Nome is a former "gold rush town" that is the final step on the 1,150-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race held each March. It's 3,500 residents would have totally run out of fuel by late March or early April, if the Russian ship had not been successful in reaching the city.

A U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker spent weeks chopping through hundreds of miles of three to four foot thick ice and strong currents to clear a path for the 370-foot tanker.

The Renda began its journey from Russia in mid-December, picking up diesel fuel in South Korea before taking on gasoline in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, several days later.

According to Stacey Smith of Vitus Marine, the fuel supplier, "it was an absolutely grand collaboration by all parties involved."

As they say, "all's well that ends well."

NATURAL GAS PRICES ARE AT A 10-YEAR LOW

Natural gas prices, thanks to the fourth warmest winter season overall in the last 117 years, have plunged to the lowest levels since February 2002, nearly a decade ago.

The $2.29 per 1,000 cubic feet on Thursday meant that natural gas prices had fallen nearly 25 percent since the beginning of January, an unprecedented plunge for such a short period.

The nation's supplies of natural gas are currently 21 percent above the five-year average. The resulting lower prices to consumers, however, may take another six months to a year to "trickle down" from the energy suppliers like Avista locally in the Pacific Northwest. Still, most users, business and residential, will save about $200 per year in heating and cooling costs.

With extremely harsh conditions currently creating snow emergencies in the Inland Northwest, we need all the help we can get.

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