Cd'A to see sun, but colder temps with chances of rain

Partly sunny skies could bring temperatures back above 70 on Friday, but cold temperatures, including the low 30s, are here for most of the week.

Coeur d’Alene Climatologist Cliff Harris expects to have some sun but said Monday there’s a 30 to 40% chance of light rain that could postpone outdoor plans. As the system which brought Tropical Storm Rachel to California and the southwest dissipates, some sprinkles could hit Coeur d’Alene.

“We are in a pattern of unbelievable extremes,” Harris said. “We'll be left out of the loop with just a few light showers because we'd be too far to the north to get anything going into California, and too far to the west to get anything coming from Montana.”

Harris said Coeur d’Alene received an inch and a half of rain in early September, but the city has seen its lowest number of thunderstorms between May and October in 20 years and received just .11 of an inch of rain since early September. Between that and an exceptionally dry summer, any amount of precipitation in the coming days would be a boon to the local environment.

“We're not in this parching drought thanks to the rains in early September, but it's been a month since we had a generous rainfall outside of a few sprinkles,” Harris said. “So we're right back in the drought again. It's just not as severe.”

Harris said the risk of wildfires is still present even this late in the year. A high and low pressure ridge meeting could bring strong winds that might aid in starting a blaze.

“Our biggest threat, as I've said all year, is fires,” Harris said. “It's dry enough that we could still have fire, so you have to be careful.”

Although not unusual, temperatures could drop into the mid-to-low 30s overnight. Harris advised plant owners to cover their outdoor plants to protect them from the frost that’s likely to form overnight.

“There may be a little bit of frost in the morning, particularly in the outlying areas away from the warmer lakes," he said.

Harris expects another mild winter.

“When the El Niño falls apart, probably next spring and summer, I see a new La Niña come on the other side,” he said. “That's when we'll finally get some normal snow here, maybe above-normal snow.”