Despite warm-up, more cold, snow is on the way
Weather conditions continue to be extreme across the globe, especially here in the Inland Northwest. Last month, we endured the snowiest and one of the coldest Novembers in recorded history. Total snowfall last month was an incredible 25.9 inches.
But, December’s weather flipped to the other extreme. As of early Monday, we’ve had more than 5 inches of snow for the last month of 2010. Temperatures have warmed up to approximately 3 degrees above average for December, melting all of the snow that fell in November.
On Dec. 1, snow depth at Spokane International Airport was 11 inches. As temperatures warmed into the mid-40s around the middle of the month, the snow quickly melted and bare ground was reported at the airport on Dec. 13.
The full moon lunar cycle that began earlier this week has returned the snow to the Inland Empire. However, by the time one reads this article, warmer air will once again move in from the south that may jeopardize our white Christmas. It’s going to be close in the Spokane area, with a better chance of a white Christmas in areas to the north and east.
As mentioned in previous articles, there is a strengthening La Niña, the cooler-than-normal sea-surface temperature event in the south-central Pacific Ocean. When we have a La Niña, we typically see snowier and colder weather across the northwestern U.S. This time around, however, moisture and warmer temperatures have been invading our region from the south, more typical of El Niño, the warmer-than-normal sea-surface temperature event. The warm and wet pattern earlier this month has also led to major flooding this past week in Western Washington and parts of neighboring Oregon and British Columbia.
Total precipitation for the first half of December 2010 at the airport is more than 2 inches. For the season, as of Monday the airport has received a healthy 17.80 inches of rain and melted snow. The normal for an entire season is just over 16.5 inches.
The chances for a white Christmas in Spokane are 47 percent. In the U.S., only a few northern-latitude cities are a sure bet of a brilliant white Christmas. Duluth, Minn., averages at least an inch of snow on the ground 97 percent of the time. Marquette, Mich., stands at 90 percent along with Anchorage, Alaska. Concord, N.H., and Burlington, Vt. came in at 89 percent and 87 percent, respectively.
Longer-term, thanks to the moderate La Niña, I’m expecting at least another 20 to 30 inches of snow between now and early to mid-March. That would bring our seasonal snowfall in Spokane total up to approximately 50 to 60 inches.
Despite the recent warm-up, temperatures this winter should be colder than usual for the most part. More below-zero temperatures may occur in January or in early to mid-February.
Happy holidays!