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 dating back nearly 120 years to 1895, the start of area weather statistics on a regular basis.

This week, we're updating Coeur d'Alene's 10 coldest and 10 warmest seasons since 1895, plus listing the 10 coldest mornings locally since 1895. Here are those records:

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

2. Minus 29 degrees on 2/9/1933 (Minus 35 degrees at Sandpoint).TIE Minus 29 degrees on 1/29/1950.

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

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

6. Minus 26 degrees on 1/31/1950

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

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

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

10. Minus 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 morning last winter in 2013-14 was a record-tying minus 8 degrees on Feb. 6, 2014. We also saw minus 3 degrees on Feb. 5, 2014. These were our first subzero readings in Coeur d'Alene since we plunged to minus 2 degrees on Dec. 8, 2009.

But, we may not see a below zero temperature this fast approaching winter of 2014-15 due to a warm and strengthening 'El Nino' sea-surface temperature event in the tepid waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

As usual, however, in this long-standing cycle of WIDE WEATHER 'EXTREMES,' only time will tell.

NORTH IDAHO WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

We've now received nearly two inches of much-needed moisture this month as of 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 9. Our normal precipitation for the entire month of November has been 3.07 inches since 1895. Last November, in 2013, we gauged a near-normal 3.05 inches.

We hadn't yet, as of Sunday, seen our first hard freeze of the fall season. The warm 'El Nino' has kept us much milder than usual following a hotter and drier than normal summer of 2014.

But, Old Man Winter is "waiting at the door." Our weather will be turning MUCH COLDER this week with afternoon high temperatures in the far below normal 20s and morning low readings in the frigid teens. Wind chill factors will plunge to near the zero mark by midweek.

We are putting the studded snow tires on the Corolla this week. We have disconnected the hoses from the house faucets. We've raked the leaves and we're ready for winter. Our lush garden will soon be history.

While we're not expecting any significant snowfalls at the lower elevations until just prior to Thanksgiving, we should see a few flakes of the white stuff this Veterans Day week as expected.

Longer term, just how much in the way of total snowfall accumulation we'll see this winter depends upon the strength and longevity of the current El Nino in the tepid waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Only time will tell as usual.

Happy Veterans Day!

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