Record cold as winter weather continues

COEUR d'ALENE — Eventually, it has to warm up, right?

But not yet.

Climatologist Cliff Harris said the low Wednesday was 23 degrees at his Player Drive home, which tied the record low for April 5 set in 1965.

He said it was even colder north of Coeur d'Alene, dropping into the upper teens in Spirit Lake.

"That is extremely rare this late," Harris said.

He said one man washed his car over the weekend and forgot to disconnect the hose from the faucet. Early Wednesday, the faucet froze and burst.

"There was water everywhere," Harris said.

The cold snap is being caused by cold air coming from the Gulf of Alaska, he said.

Normal low this time of year is 37, while normal high is 56. It's running about 15 to 20 degrees under that, Harris said.

He expects it to warm up by week's end and for the first part of next week, possibly edging over 60 degrees. But he added that he expects it to get colder again later next week and snow is still possible.

Harris said current conditions are what would be normally be seen in early February.

"Winter continues," he said.