Wind, rain & more snow

By BRIAN WALKER

Hagadone News Network

COEUR d’ALENE — Old Man Winter hasn’t lost his punch.

Just ask Coeur d’Alene’s Dustin Davis, who felt the power on Friday.

"Just driving around, you can feel that winter isn’t over," he said while filling up at a gas station on Northwest Boulevard amid large snowflakes and soaked streets. "You definitely have to take it slower. I guess my god-awful golf game will have to wait a little longer."

Press Meteorologist Randy Mann said another foot of snow could fall in the lower elevations between today and Monday morning.

"We could see some rain mixing in at times (today), but it will be all snow (tonight) heading into Sunday and we could get quite a bit. We’re not done. Skiers are going to love it.

"We knew this was coming, but it's bigger than we thought it would be."

Mann said a "hum-dinger" snow system is developing for late this month and early March, too.

"There is a lot of snow coming," he said, adding that there will be higher-than-normal snowfall for the winter.

"We will probably go above the normal for the season this weekend," he said.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, 64.4 inches had fallen in Coeur d’Alene for the season. The normal for an entire winter is 69.7. Some areas such as Spirit Lake have received even more snowfall.

"By Monday morning, that figure could be close to 80," Mann said. "We could be up around 90 inches by the first week of March."

Temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits for lows and to the upper 20s for highs early next week, Mann said. Tuesday morning could reach 0, he said.

"We could see some of the coldest weather of the season next week," Mann said. "It’s hard to believe that it was in the 50s not too long ago. Now we’re on the other side of the pattern.”

Any advice, Randy?

“Keep your boots and snowblowers ready.”