It might be time to ditch the vacation home in Arizona and park it in North Idaho year-round.

Thermometers in Coeur d'Alene climbed up to 54.6 degrees on Wednesday, the highest for the date in nearly a century, according to climatologist Cliff Harris.

The previous record high for Jan. 4 was 49 degrees, he said, set all the way back in 1918.

Obviously, Harris said, "this is weird."

Normally a La Nina winter like this one experiences colder-than-usual temperatures and a heap of snow, he said.

But that's just not happening.

"We've been in a snow drought for six weeks now, since the 22nd of November," Harris said, noting that Christmas Eve did see a sprinkle of white.

The total snowfall this winter has been a mere 16.4 inches, he added, comparable to the dry and breezy 2009-10 winter that only garnered 18.4 inches all season.

Few need reminding that last winter buried Coeur d'Alene with a total 121 inches, Harris added.

"I tell everybody, it's feast or famine," he said.

The heat wave over the first half of winter has been due to warm air built up over the area, he said. As a result, he has been fielding calls from frustrated ice fishermen and bird watchers spotting robins a few months early.

It can't last, Harris warned.

He expects temperatures to dip over the next week, low enough to generate some flakes.

"It doesn't look like a lot of snow," he predicted. "But anything at this point will be appreciated by those trying to go snowmobiling and cross country skiing and sledding."