Frigid vortex hex is upon us

The polar vortex, western edition, is coming to a neighborhood near you.

The vortex, as the polar air causing school closures and brownouts in the Midwest has been called, is moving into Idaho and will continue to drop temperatures in the Panhandle throughout the week.

The good news is, the temperature drop into the low teens or single digits predicted this week, and the snow — as much as 5 inches — that’s predicted to hit Coeur d’Alene and the surrounding area from now until Monday may represent the worst weather this winter has to offer.

It will likely last into next week, Press meteorologist Randy Mann said, and then, just like an icicle fallen into a pile of snow, it will be gone.

“I still see more chilly weather into next week,” Mann said. “Then we’ll see some modification.”

It’s a direct result of the so-called Polar Vortex, the cold air mass that pushed temperatures to minus 50 F in some parts of the Midwest last week.

“We’re getting some of that,” Mann said. “It’s just not as intense.”

That’s because the effect of the Panhandle’s mountains and the Pacific Ocean often keep temperatures more mild here than in wide open areas like the Midwest.

“They modify some of this stuff,” Mann said.

He expects this week’s high temperatures to hover in the 20s, while the lows by the weekend should hang in the single digits. Snow is in the forecast as well, but the 3 to 5 inches that could fall from now through Sunday — most of it Thursday and Friday — won’t pack a lot of moisture.

“We can get blowing snow, and that may cause some issues,” he said.

This week’s cold snap, despite it belonging to the outer fringes of the vortex, isn’t unusual for winter in the Panhandle. Mann expects it will be the coldest snap we get this winter.

“This is kind of on par,” he said. “We usually get at least one of these a year, and this looks like it’s it.”

Part of the reason it feels so cold, Mann said, is because the wind chill is dropping temperatures below zero.

Although the Panhandle is well below its normal snow load, the numbers will pick up this month.

“February will be the snowiest month of the entire season,” Mann predicted.

Mountain snow levels are about 85 percent of normal in the St. Joe and most of the Coeur d’Alenes, according to the USDA’s Snotel sites.

Temperatures are expected to begin climbing late next week and any snow that falls then will be heavier as it collects moisture.