Seasonal Snowfall Totals in Coeur d'Alene as of 8 Feb 2008

There has been some discussion on the amount of snow received so far this year in Coeur d'Alene and how that amount compares to all-time records. This official National Weather Service observation is taken near Lake Coeur d'Alene, close to the University of Idaho-Coeur d'Alene campus. The weather observation at Coeur d'Alene has had a somewhat inconsistent past, but this is not unusual. There were no observations between 1990 and 1995, and data prior to 1915 is rather spotty at best. Additionally, it has moved around a bit. Through much of the 20th century the observation was taken at the Fernan Ranger Station. In the past 20 years it has moved to a couple of different locations. All of these sites were within 5 miles of each other and all had very similar elevations. As such, the data from all of these sites is similar enough to be considered as applicable to the Coeur d'Alene area.

As of Feb 8th, the official total snowfall for the year stands at 67.6". Although the snowfall season is not yet over, heavy snow is not common for late February onward. The table below shows the top 10 record snowfall seasons in Coeur d'Alene. Note that the 1992/93 and the 1996/97 winters are not in this list because there were no official snowfall measurements at this time.

The map below shows the snowfall totals from other official NWS observing sites in the region. In Coeur d'Alene, in addition to the official measurement of of 67.6", there is a 97.7" total from a trained NWS spotter located north of Interstate 90. This is quite a difference over a small distance. While the reason for this difference is partly due to the location (i.e. near the warmer lake vs away from the lake), there can be other reasons for the difference.

The official site near the lake measures the snowfall once every 24 hours in the morning. Snow which falls during the day will often settle and/or melt entirely by the next morning. The observation in the northern end of town is performed at midnight. The observing practices can have a large affect on the total snowfall.

The official NWS observation practice is for snowfall observations to be taken no more often than every 6 hours. The reason for this is as follows: As snow accumulates on the ground, it settles. The first inch of snowfall is packed down a bit by the 2nd inch, resulting in less than 2 inches of snow accumulation. If a snowfall observation is taken very frequently (e.g. every hour) and then totaled over 24 hours, the amount will be larger than if the observation had been taken every 6 hours and much larger than one observation every 24 hours. The amount of settling/compaction varies with the type of snow, but it can be substantial. Thus, the NWS established the 6 hour standard.

It's helpful to compare these amounts to what falls in an average winter. The table below shows this comparison at several sites.

As can be seen, the percentage of average for all of these locations is fairly similar. This is to be expected over an entire snowfall season. Locations which typically receive more snowfall on average will usually receive more in any given year. But it's percent of average is usually quite similar to nearby stations.