The weather forecast for this winter? Prepare the snow shovel

What will winter look like in Camas Prairie? Expect 90 to 100 inches of snow, more than the average of 90.5. (Grangeville already had 2.5 inches of snow, less than the initial average total of 4.6 inches).

You can expect the first half of December to be more temperate than the second half, both in terms of temperature and snowfall.

This is all good news for winter enthusiasts – whether skiers, snowboarders or snowmobilers. Already last Friday, Brundage Ski Area near McCall opened for the season, the earliest in two decades, and Schweitzer near Sandpoint and Silver near Kellogg have also opened.

One can only imagine how cold it could be this coming winter. Lewiston-Clarkston residents shouldn’t expect or want a sharp decline like last winter, when the reading was minus 10 on the second Saturday in January. This was the first time in 35 years that the reading reached -10 or lower. This resulted in roses and other plants not surviving.

And what are your memories of summer 2024? Then residents of Grangeville, Moscow and Pullman — who rarely have triple-digit days — can laugh at Lewiston-Clarkston residents who prefer the winter comparison to summers with lots of triple-digit days. (Folks, it’s the elevation difference, with Lewiston being the lowest elevation in Idaho.)

Think back. Lewiston-Clarkston had its fifth hottest summer on record in 2024, including 21 triple-digit days. The average over the last 23 years is 12.2. July was the hot month with 15 triple temperatures in 16 days. The highest summer temperature was 111°C on both July 21st and August 2nd.

Moscow and Pullman also couldn’t escape triple-digit numbers. Pullman had a couple. Moscow, unusually, had seven.

Our north-central Idaho and southeast Washington region also experienced moderate drought. Lewiston’s water year (October 1 to September 30) had 11.93 inches of precipitation, less than the average of 12.87 inches, or nearly an inch. Moscow had 22.52 inches, 5 inches less than the normal of 27.78.

Yes, November was wetter than we expected. Lewiston saw 1.37 inches through earlier this week, higher than the average of 1.08 inches. Moscow had 4.61 inches, 1½ inches more than the average of 3.03 inches.

The region’s 2024-25 water year outlook is improving. This is good news for agriculture.

Alford is president of TPC Holdings, the Tribune’s parent company. He can be contacted at [email protected] or (208) 848-2250.