The Cascadia and San Andreas faults may be linked

Last week, there were reports that three earthquakes were recorded off the West Coast near the border of California and Oregon. The strongest one measured a 5.…

Could we have another tough wildfire season?

Conditions across the northwestern part of the U.S. and southwestern Canada have been drier than normal for the spring of 2026. Despite the dry conditions, the…

A monster El Nino may be on the horizon

A new forecast from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is that a “super El Nino” is likely late this year, perhaps starting in October. The odds are about 65% th…

With Groundwater Losses, Many Cities are Sinking

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, water seems to be becoming scarcer. To accommodate increasing populations and agriculture, the pumping of groundwater i…

More lightning facts

Conditions across the Inland Northwest are expected to dry with warm afternoon temperatures this week. However, May is one of the months we will experience thu…

Strong tornadoes hitting the central U.S.

Tornado season in the U.S., especially in the southern Great Plains, is in full swing despite reporting drought conditions. On April 23, an EF4 twister went th…

Warm temperatures and drought across the country

How an El Nino is determined

Earlier this year, we were in the middle of a weak La Nina event, which is the cooler than normal sea-surface temperature phenomenon in the south-central Pacif…

Coeur d’Alene’s microclimates

I’ve recently received a few emails asking about the different types of climates and their effects here in North Idaho. Our region is well-known for its many l…

Could we see a strong El Nino this year?

Spring is starting with more wild extremes

Wind and snow

It was certainly a wild week weatherwise across the Coeur d’Alene and Spokane region. On Thursday, March 12, a second round of very strong winds since last Dec…

Thunderstorms may eventually become more predictable

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, there are over 40,000 thunderstorms forming every day across the globe. That’s nearly 1,700 per hour. For an entire yea…

There may be a new ‘Tornado alley’

For many years, we have associated the most dangerous tornadoes in a region known as “Tornado Alley,” a large region of the Great Plains that includes the stat…

Avalanches are making headlines

Over the recent weeks, it has been reported that the western U.S. has been in the middle of a snow drought. However, conditions recently changed, especially in…