Imagine, subzero temperatures in Arkansas ... colder than us!

It's certainly hard to believe that parts of the Deep South observed subzero readings earlier this week, several degrees colder than our Dec. 7 low of 1 degree above zero in Coeur d'Alene.

For example, Fayetteville, Ark., dipped to an all-time record low of minus-3 degrees on Tuesday, Jan. 7. It was minus-2 degrees at Harrison, Ark., and minus-1 degree near Huntsville, Ala. Birmingham, Ala., observed a record low for the date of 6 degrees as did Atlanta, Rome and Athens, Ga. Macon, Ga., had a record low of 10 degrees. Milton, Fla., dipped to 17 degrees, but the Florida citrus and vegetable crops remained in much warmer air with minimum readings generally in the 30s and 40s.

Farther to the north, record lows near minus-15 degrees were reported earlier in the week in Chicago, Peoria and Springfield, Ill., Lafayette and Indianapolis, Ind., and Detroit, Mich. Cleveland, Ohio, reported a record low of minus-11 degrees on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

It was much colder across the Northern Great Plains, the Upper Midwest and neighboring Canada, thanks to a brutal, life-threatening 'Polar Vortex' of Arctic air some 1,200 miles farther south than its normal winter position.

It was as cold as minus-41 degrees near Jordan, Mont., this past weekend, Jan. 4-5. Regina, Saskatchewan, had a record minus-33 degrees on Sunday, Jan. 5. It was minus-31 degrees at International Falls, Minn.. Duluth, Minn., reported minus-28 degrees. Minneapolis, Minn., had a record low of minus-23 degrees on Monday, Jan. 6. It was minus-22 degrees, likewise a new record low for Jan. 6, at Dubuque, Iowa. St. Louis, had a record low of minus-8 degrees as did Russell, Kan.

Schools were closed in many areas. Thousands of flights were cancelled. More than 500 Amtrak passengers were stranded because of blowing and drifting snow across the tracks in northern Illinois. More than 185 million people across the nation were affected by the most intense coldwave in decades. Fortunately, things warmed up rather quickly later in the week.

In answering a Press subscriber's question, yes, Bill, I do believe that we have entered an intense period of global cooling that "may last as long as a century," according to German, Russian and Japanese climate scientists.

It's my climatological opinion that we will see another series of very snowy winter seasons in North Idaho as solar activity peaks and then starts a sharp downward trend in sunspots by 2015 to 2019. A very chilly 'La Nina' sea-surface temperature cycle in the eastern Pacific Ocean regions will enhance the winter snowfalls in the Inland Northwest. In the meantime, let's enjoy our mild winter with less snow than normal in 2013-14. Big changes are in sight down the meteorological roadway.

I should likewise mention that there is indeed some sort of 'justice' in the weather world these days for we sceptics of Manmade global warming.

Earlier this past week, a Chinese icebreaker, sent to rescue a 'climate change' Russian ship, found itself stuck in more than 10 feet of solid ice off the northeast coast of Antarctica in the middle of the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere.

A team of 52 global warming scientists, journalists and tourists with "save the planet from scorching temperatures messages," have been trapped by rapidly-expanding ice sheets in the polar regions, including Antarctica. This icy reality climatewise proves that the earth is beginning to cool off. The recent cycle of warming has ended. We may be on the threshold of another 'Little Ice Age' or worse. Who knows?

I don't know about you, but I'll certainly miss the warm years like the current winter season west of the Rockies. Global cooling kills crops, sends heating costs "through the roof" and often results in epidemics of flu and deadly pneumonia, etc., etc., etc.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

We finally received several inches of snow earlier this week at the lower elevations. This allowed the kids to use their sleds on Cherry Hill and elsewhere that they got for Christmas.

But, as has been typical for this rather mild overall winter of 2013-14 west of the Rockies, temperatures rose quickly at midweek washing much of the white stuff away.

As I've said frequently in the past couple of months, if one's elevation is 'low,' they'll get 'less snow,' especially below 2,500 feet. That's why I lowered my seasonal snowfall predictions in late December by 20 inches for Coeur d'Alene and the vicinity.

The main reason for the milder weather in our part of the country, the exact 'opposite' type of winter that folks east of the Rockies have seen, is that we're now in a warmer and weak 'El Nino' sea-surface temperature event in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. We are also in a pattern of higher solar activity that contributes to the lack of rain and snow in some parts of the country, especially in California and the Sierra Nevada mountains which have been hit by all-time record drought. My sister Carolyn's well went dry this past week in the Santa Cruz mountains. Our ski areas, however, are just high enough to see moderate amounts of snow for the region's skiers and snowboarders above 4,000 feet.

We still see periods of mostly wet snow alternating with rain or mixed precipitation during the next six to eight weeks extending into early to mid March. Despite a few colder than normal periods, our temperatures should be generally milder than normal, hence less snow at the lower elevations.

As the latest issue of Time Magazine pointed out, "when the Pacific Ocean warms up, our weather gets weird." In other words, we see wild 'EXTREMES' across the globe just like we've predicted would be the case.

Stay tuned, it's going to be a THRILLING RIDE into 2015 and beyond. Have a good week, weather or not.

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