It's either 'feast or famine' in North Idaho's snowfall predictions

Every November, I update Coeur d'Alene's all-time snowfall records since 1895. I list the 10 snowiest winters and the 10 most 'open' winters that had the least amounts of the white stuff in the past 120 years. Will we break any local snowfall records this upcoming winter of 2014-15? I doubt it, especially with the warm 'El Nino' in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Here are these records:

THE 'TOP 10' SNOWIEST WINTERS (NORMAL: 69.8 inches - ALL ABOVE 100 INCHES!)

1. 2007-08 - 172.9 inches (190+ inches in Rathdrum!)

2. 2008-09 - 145.6 inches (100+ inches more snow than ever in 2007-09 over a two-season span!)

3. 1915-16 - 124.2 inches (181.5 inches at Sandpoint.)

4. 2010-11 - 121.0 inches (69.0 inches at Spokane.)

5. 1968-69 - 117.8 inches (82.4 inches in January, 1969, alone in Coeur d'Alene.)

6. 1949-50 - 111.6 inches (93.5 inches at Spokane.)

7. 1992-93 - 103.7 inches (145.3 inches at Hayden Lake.)

8. 1931-32 - 103.6 inches (134.7 inches at Sandpoint.)

9. 1996-97 - 101.4 inches (150.5 inches at Sandpoint.)

10. 1896-97 - 100.5 inches (100 years earlier than number 9.)

THE 'BOTTOM 10' MOST OPEN 'SNOWLESS' WINTERS (ALL BELOW 20 INCHES!)

1. 1933-34 - 11.2 inches

2. 1943-44 - 13.6 inches

3. 1987-88 - 14.1 inches

4. 1914-15 - 14.3 inches

5. 1941-42 - 14.4 inches

6. 1966-67 - 15.8 inches

7. 1908-09 - 16.1 inches

8. 1929-30 - 17.8 inches

9. 2009-10 - 18.4 inches

10. 1899-00 - 19.4 inches

Including the 67.2 inches of snow which was measured last winter in 2013-14 in town, our annual snowfall in Coeur d'Alene since 1895 has averaged 69.8 inches.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

We received more than 2 inches of rain in Coeur d'Alene during the 10-day period ending Halloween Night, Oct. 31. We actually topped the 119-year normal precipitation for October of 2.22 inches. Last October, in 2013, we gauged a mere .62 inches.

The upcoming 10-day span should be wet and cool with several systems from the Gulf of Alaska passing over the region. There may be some increasing snows in the mountains for the skiers and snowboarders by sometime around Nov. 7 to Veterans' Day, Nov. 11. But, I'm holding off putting my studded snow tires on the Corolla until I see a chance of "sticking snows" in the lowlands shortly before Thanksgiving. Our normal snowfall for the entire month of November in Coeur d'Alene is just 8.7 inches since 1895, not that much at elevations below 2,500 feet. Last November, we measured just 3.2 inches.

As far as the upcoming winter of 2014-15 is concerned, as we've said for months now, if El Nino gains strength in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, we'll see milder than normal temperatures and less snow than usual, especially at elevations below 2,500 feet. Stay tuned.

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