Cold in the east with snow drought in the west

The infamous “polar vortex” did lead to some very frigid and snowy weather across the U.S. east of the Rockies. At the end of January and the first few days of February, very cold weather gripped the Southeast down into Florida. For example, the Tampa-St. Petersburg area had snow flurries with temperatures dropping into the lower 20s on Feb. 1.

It was so cold that, according to the New York Post, some flights at the Orlando International Airport were grounded. Officials are saying that this air mass over the Southeast was the coldest since December 1989.  Many residents in the South are saying that the late January and early February cold and snow event was one of the worst winter storms in decades. This frigid weather pattern also dumped about a foot and a half of snow in the eastern portions of North Carolina.

During this intense cold wave, temperatures in Florida were warmer than in Iceland, Alaska and parts of the northern U.S., such as Minnesota, North Dakota and eastern Montana. According to data from the Weather Service, readings in Iceland were near 40 degrees while Florida temperatures were in the 20s.

Iceland is located in the higher latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, around 65 degrees North, compared to 47.6 degrees North at Coeur d’Alene. The country is in the Arctic Circle, but its main city, Reykjavik, can often experience milder weather in January than parts of the Midwest, Northeast, and even the Inland Northwest. January temperatures in this city rarely drop below the mid-teens or go higher than the upper 30s. The region is often windy and wet due to the geothermal heat and the warm North Atlantic Current.

Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates come together. However, these plates are slowly pulling apart about an inch per year. It’s not a lot, but as the plates separate, magma from within the Earth rises to fill the gap, leading to “hot spots” of volcanic activity and making it one of the most volcanically active places on the planet. The country is also famous for volcanoes, geysers, lava fields, glaciers, waterfalls, and black-sand beaches. About 10% of Iceland is covered by glaciers, including Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe.

Despite not having extreme conditions during the winter season, that time of year is cold and dark, as in December, there are nearly 24 hours of darkness. By contrast, the summers are cool and bright. In summer, the midnight sun keeps daylight almost 24 hours a day. In winter, Iceland is one of the best places to see the aurora borealis or the Northern Lights. It’s a place I hope to visit someday.

With the colder and snowier weather in the eastern parts of the country, the western U.S. has been in the midst of a snow drought. As of Feb. 1, snow cover across much of the West was the lowest since satellite record-keeping began in 2001 due to a drier and warmer-than-normal January. Idaho has experienced one of its warmest winters in recent history, resulting in the lowest snowpacks since the 1980s. According to the Idaho Snow Report, snowpack levels across Idaho are about 29% of normal. The lack of snow has officials concerned about water availability, especially during the summer months.

In California, statewide snowpack levels have dropped to about 56 to 59%. The northern Sierra Nevada levels are only about 43 to 44% of normal. In late 2025, snowpacks in California were over 100% of normal.

Snowfall in Coeur d’Alene has been minimal through early February. As of the weekend, only 15.2 inches of snow has fallen at Cliff Harris’s station, which is less than 30% of normal to date. At the Spokane International Airport, seasonal snowfall is currently 14.0 inches. The long-range computer models are not indicating any big snowfalls across the Inland Northwest over the next week to 10 days. However, there is still the chance of some snow developing in the lower elevations after the middle of this month.

Despite the cooler La Niña sea-surface temperature event, the 2025-26 snowfall season across the Inland Northwest will end up below normal once again. This would be the third season in-a-row with snowfall below the 69.1-inch average in Coeur d’Alene. During the 2023-24 season, a total of 51.2 inches of snow fell, with only 36.1 inches during the 2024-25 season. Snowfall was good during the 2022-23 season (83.8 inches), but slightly below normal in 2021-22 (66.7 inches).

Based on the potential lingering effects of the current cooler La Niña, long-term weather charts are forecasting near to below-normal temperatures and above normal moisture across the region over the next several months. Some of the models are projecting that the polar vortex may have more of an influence over the western states, so we haven’t given up on measurable snowfall later this month and into March just yet. Stay tuned.

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Contact Randy Mann at [email protected].