It looks like a wet spring and a dry summer

It looks like we’re going through the month of March without any measurable snowfall in Coeur d’Alene. However, moisture totals across the Inland Northwest are still very good. Nearly 9 inches of rain and melted snow has fallen at Cliff’s station since the beginning of the year, which is over an inch above-normal.

The last time we had any measurable snow was on Feb. 27 when 0.9 inches fell. It’s certainly been a tale of two seasons. We were well on our way to our predicted 80-inch plus snow season in Coeur d’Alene as we had over 50 inches at the end of last year. Then, the snow faucet was practically turned off as we’re now at 56.6 inches. The normal for the season is 69.8 inches and I think we’ll be lucky to get to 60 inches for the season.

Despite being in the spring season, there’s still a chance for snow in early-to-mid April. The long-range computer models are still showing the possibility of a cold storm from the Gulf of Alaska that could bring at least one more chance of snow to the Inland Northwest. But, our winter storms since the beginning of the year have been too warm and the systems expected in early April may also be too warm.

According to Cliff’s records, there has never been an instance with such a strong start to the snowfall season with over 50 inches, then suddenly flip to practically no snow beginning in shortly after the first of the year.

As I’ve been reporting, it’s been a tough situation for the residents of California as many stations started their wet season at over 250 percent of normal. Since the beginning of the year, some stations have received less than 10 percent of their normal moisture. For many locations, January and February were the driest first two months in recorded history for many stations in California, including the mountain regions as well.

Officials are concerned as drought conditions in California and much of the West are expected to get worse during the spring and summer season. There has already been record-breaking warmth early this year and there is more hotter than average weather expected in the coming months. Residents will likely see water restrictions across some of the major Californian cities this summer.

Since last year, ocean temperatures along the Equatorial regions have been cooler than normal. During this La Nina pattern, drought conditions have expanded across much of the U.S. and the drought has been extreme to exceptional across the southern U.S. Unfortunately, this will probably to lead to another tough wildfire season across California and the western U.S. In Texas and Oklahoma, conditions have also been very dry and wildfires have been breaking out in recent weeks.

However, there are indications that the La Nina pattern is starting to weaken. Ocean temperatures along the West Coast of South America having been warming up. There are some regions near the South American coast that are above normal levels, which is a key indicator on the formation of El Nino or La Nina events. It’s still very early, but this could be sign that we may flip from the cooler La Nina sea-surface temperature event to the warmer El Nino later this year or in 2023. Typically, El Nino conditions provide more rainfall to California and drought-ravaged southwestern U.S. We’ll just have to wait and see.

In other science-related news, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill to make Daylight Saving permanent beginning in November of 2023. It’s being called the Sunshine Protection Act and would end the twice-annual ritual of resetting our clocks every March and November. In order for this to take effect, the bill must pass the House of Representatives and then be signed by President Biden before it becomes law.

Assuming this becomes law late next year, sunrise in Coeur d’Alene at the end of December would not be until approximately 8:30 a.m. However, the Sun would set an hour later at around 5 p.m. in late December.

In the U.S., only two states do not participate in Daylight Saving, which are Arizona and Hawaii. Otherwise, much of North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and parts of the Middle East and South Africa also change their clocks twice a year. Assuming the U.S. bill is passed, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the world responds.

In terms of our local weather, the upper-level jet stream is still expected to keep the storm door open across the Pacific Northwest. Cliff and I expect that we’ll have above-normal moisture through April and perhaps into May. As we get close to the summer season, conditions should once again turn drier than normal. Since 2015, Coeur d’Alene’s average summer precipitation has been below average levels.