Inland Northwest Hay Weather

We’ve been discussing in the past couple of blogs the potential for snow and cold weather this weekend. Based on the recent computer forecast models, I would say that the odds of cold and snow are looking very slim at this point . Of the over 100 computer forecasts, none of them show sub-zero temperatures this weekend, and only about 1% of them have temperatures dropping into the single digits.  The cold Canadian air is expected to stay east of the Continental Divide. We should see colder temperatures at night this weekend.  But that’s because our cloud blanket that’s keeping us mild at night should be pushed to our south by a northeast breeze on Friday.  Speaking of which, here’s what our cloud blanket looks like from space As for snow?  There’s about a 20% chance of a dusting of snow on Sunday or Monday.  We’re still looking at milder temperatures next week to finish out the month of January. This would be accompanied by a chance of rain next week.  Inter...

  Four days ago I mentioned that the computer forecasts were “hinting” at some colder weather starting around the 23rd. Four days later, they’re still hinting at it, albeit a stronger hint. But we’re starting to see some potential details.  First, the odds of colder temperatures next weekend are probably about 60% now. Not a done deal, but likely. There’s still a lot of uncertainty. Some computers give us sub-zero low temperatures while others say we won’t go below freezing. Your app is probably saying teens for a low, and that’s the best guess right now. But it could be colder. There are three sources of uncertainty: Will the cold Canadian air push in from the northeast? Will this bring us snow? Will the skies clear with calm winds after the snow stops? Canadian Air The models have been showing this potential consistently and the trend has been to push the Canadian air in here a little stronger. So for question #1 I’d answer: Yes. Snow Potential If the Canadian air comes blas...

My first winter in the Inland Northwest was 1995/96. December of that year was extremely mild, with only 0.2” of snowfall at Spokane airport. “We’re gonna pay for this” I can remember hearing. I scoffed as the first half of January brought more of the same. Then the pattern changed.  Snow started on the 19th and 10 days later we had 15” on the ground with single digit highs and -17F lows. Groundhogs Day would have a low of -24F. Quite an introduction to Inland Northwest winter. Five days of rain and temperatures near 50 melted all that snow in a hurry. This caused record flooding on the Palouse.  I’ve heard the “we’re gonna pay for this term” numerous times. My guess is that it rarely pans out like it did during the winter of 1995/96.   Could we be in for the same fate 30 years later? First let’s take a look back at last month. December 2025 was incredibly mild.  It was in the top 5 warmest Decembers at just about every observation site in Washington record. For...