SPOKANE -- The El Nino winter in the Inland Northwest could make this one of the least snowiest winters in the last quarter century.
Compared to last year, which was the snowiest winter on record for the Inland Northwest with nearly 100 inches of snow, there has only been 12.8 inches of snow this year.
KREM 2 Chief Meteorologist Tom Sherry explains that's because the polar jet that typically brings snow and cold to us shifts north during an El Nino winter, and the subtropical jet coming from the Pacific Ocean becomes stronger, bringing more rain.
Over the last 20 years, there have been four winters with 20 inches or less snowfall. The last winter like that was in 2003-04.
