What a mess

COEUR d'ALENE — The rain that came down Monday and Tuesday turned what had been a winter wonderland into slushy streets fed by rapidly melting snow.

Combine that with a record 50 consecutive days of temperatures under 40 degrees, snapped by a heatwave of 45 degrees Tuesday, and you've got people questioning why they ever moved to Coeur d'Alene.

Climatologist Cliff Harris said a recent transplant told him they were returning to Scottsdale, Ariz.

"They're had enough of this," he said.

It has rained 32.34 inches in Coeur d'Alene this year, about 5 inches above normal.

It rained about half an inch Monday and Tuesday.

There were no reports of serious flooding, but the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office said it was monitoring the Coeur d'Alene River in Cataldo and other common flooding areas.

"There's a lot of water," Harris said. "I warned everybody about that."

He said doesn't expect another significant snowfall until the Jan. 7 weekend. That happens to be the date of the "Let It Snow" promotion by Clark’s Diamond Jewelers on Sherman Avenue.

If it snows at least 5 inches at the Spokane International Airport on Jan. 7, all purchases at Clark’s between Nov. 19 and Dec. 31 will be refunded.

It could happen, Harris said, but Spokane generally receives less snow than Coeur d'Alene.

"We'll see," he said.