Spring will be here in the nick of time
Let me guess: You’re ready for spring.
Our last six-week lunar weather cycle, which began Feb. 3, is finally coming to an end. It’s been a doozy.
Since the beginning of last month, Cliff has measured over 65 inches of snow at his station, an all-time record for this time of year. The normal for an entire season is 69.8 inches.
Just imagine what it would be like if we had an entire winter with continuous snowfall like February. Instead of snow totals near 100 inches like we’re experiencing this winter, we would likely have around 200 inches.
In fact, all the moisture that fell last month was snow, which has never happened since records began in 1895. Usually, there’s some rain mixed in with the snow in February. Even in 1955, the previous record month with 39.5 inches, there were instances of rain.
As of the weekend, Coeur d’Alene’s seasonal snowfall total is 96.4 inches. For February and March combined, there has been a total of 65.2 inches, which breaks the two-month record of 57.4 inches set back in February and March of 1955.
The normal snowfall between now and the end of the season is about 3.5 inches. If we have an average end to this wild winter weather, we will top the 100-inch mark for the fifth time in 11 years.
During a very chilly and strong La Nina sea-surface temperature pattern in the harsh winter of 2007-08, when there were also very few sunspots, Cliff gauged an all-time record 172.9 inches of snow on Player Drive. The next winter was the second snowiest on record in Coeur d’Alene, with 145.6 inches. In 2016-17, we ended up at 115.4 inches. Back in 2010-11, 121 inches of snow fell. Prior to those big snow years, the last time Coeur d’Alene topped 100 inches was in 1996-97, when 101.4 inches fell.
In the mountains, snowfall totals are very high. There is still about 7 feet of snow at Kellogg Peak at the Silver Mountain Resort. For the season, a whopping 311 inches has fallen on the mountain. At the summit of Lookout Pass, over 10 feet of snow is being reported. Their seasonal total is about 440 inches — over 36 feet of snow.
Conditions across the Inland Northwest are beginning to feel more like spring as temperatures will be climbing into the 50s this week. There is a good chance that highs will climb into the lower 60s over the next few days, especially in the outlying areas, which would melt a lot of that snow. With the warmer weather, we do see an increased chance of localized flooding, so keep a watchful eye out for standing water.
Then, during the last week of March and into early April, Cliff and I see some rain and snow developing across North Idaho. This would be our best chance to receive enough snow to push our total over 100 inches once again.
Spring officially arrives on Wednesday across the globe at 2:58 p.m. Pacific Time. On that date, also known as the Vernal Equinox, our sun’s rays are directly overhead along the Equator. As the days progress toward the first day of summer, the sun’s angle will get higher in the sky, leading to longer daylight hours in the Northern Hemisphere.
Most of you probably learned in school that we have seasons because the earth is tilted on its axis by approximately 23.5 degrees. In our summer, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, allowing us to receive more direct solar radiation and hotter weather. In the winter, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. This is why we have shorter daylight hours and a lower sun angle.
Distance from the sun has very little to do with seasonal changes in temperature, as the Earth is closer to the sun during our winter season, by about 3 million miles. It’s the tilt that makes all the difference for our four seasons.
By this summer, the sun will be overhead at 23.5 degrees north, or the Tropic of Cancer, which is why we get the longer daytime hours. Residents here in North Idaho will never see the sun directly overhead as we are too far to the north.
The first day of fall is also known as the Autumnal Equinox. This is an astronomical event when the sun is directly overhead at the earth’s equator, like the first day of spring.
On the equinoxes of both spring and fall, the Earth’s tilt has little effect based on our position in the orbit around the sun. During these times, every point on our planet has about 12 hours of day and night. The reasons the times are not exactly 12 hours apart on the first day of fall are complex. The location in a particular time zone, elevation and the fact that the sun is not a singular point in space are some of the explanations.
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Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrangeweather.com