Snow caps March-like December

Tuesday’s snow was picture perfect, at least at the Rathdrum ranch of Michele and Daanan Mahn. Michele snapped this sweet shot.

Former Press reporter Brian Walker captured this sweet shot of a boxwood bush in Post Falls during Tuesday’s snow storm.

by Mike Patrick Staff Writer
| January 1, 2020 12:00 AM

Former Press reporter Brian Walker captured this sweet shot of a boxwood bush in Post Falls during Tuesdays snow storm.

December came in like a lamb and out like a lion.

Remind you of anything?

Hagadone News Network climatologist Cliff Harris said Tuesday afternoon that between 4 a.m. and 1 p.m., his weather station on Player Drive in central Coeur d’Alene had registered 4.7 inches of new snow. That brought total snowfall for the second half of December to 13.5 inches — a little higher than average — after seeing the least snowfall in the first half of the month since weather records began in 1895.

In Bonner County, the storm brought anywhere from less than an inch of snow in Clark Fork to more than 7 inches of snow in the Sagle area — as well as a bunch of new powder at Schweitzer Mountain

“We’re still in this pattern of extremes,” he said.

Just last week, Harris noted that with record snows in September and October, the greater CDA area was experiencing its earliest winter ever, followed by a record 44 snowless days and a brown Christmas.

“Now we’re having our earliest spring ever,” he said then.

But now it looks like winter is back to kick off the new year — with snowshoes and Sorels.

“I believe we’re going to get a really snowy January,” Harris said.

First, however, the National Weather Service is forecasting a high around 40 today with rain likely. Tonight, breezy conditions are expected with a slight chance of some snow.