Some Odds for One Last Idaho Winter Snowpocalypse Are Here

We can have some wicked snowstorms in May. The mountains can get pounded at any time of year. Just ask people who frequently drive Lolo Pass. All it takes is one fast-moving clipper system, but it’s usually nothing sustained.

I’ve called the Magic Valley home for 11 winters. There’s no such thing as normal. Normal isn’t a synonym for average. I was here for the brutish winter of 2016-17. It started snowing heavily before Christmas and lasted for six weeks. Overnight lows in places rarely below zero were 15 to 20 degrees below. Then it suddenly got warmer, snow melted and we had flooding. The high water was especially nasty in Camas and Oneida Counties.

Credit Bill Colley.

Nothing is Normal About Winter

I worked through the blizzard of January of last year.

Going back to 2014-15, there were some days in February when I could walk around in shorts. All of these patterns create an average. The closest thing to normal is that winter is colder than summer. Otherwise, we continually get surprises.

This winter has been mild with some wintry spikes.

The national long-range forecast doesn’t say anything about major surprises. However, we should note forecasting three days out isn’t easy, so three weeks to a month we simply follow averages.

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

A couple of days ago, I left for work and was marveling about how tame this winter has been. When I arrived at the office I looked at the forecast and saw a prediction for heavy and wet snow the following day. I hadn’t seen that coming a few days ago.

I like looking at snow. I’ve got a Currier and Ives book at home. The snow looks great in the illustrations, and I don’t need to shovel it or drive through it.

I also figure there’s one last big haymaker left before May.