COEUR d'ALENE - Even if you don't get a white Christmas, you could be in for a white weekend.

There is a 50 percent chance for snowfall today and tonight, climatologist Cliff Harris said Tuesday. If it stays cold enough on Christmas morning, the county could see the 1 inch of snow needed for an official "White Christmas."

With the National Weather Service predicting a mostly sunny Christmas Day and temperatures in the low to mid-30s, Harris said if snow falls today it will quickly turn to slush.

"But it should be a good day for traveling around the county," he said.

This November and December will go down in weather history as one of the region's most snow-less holiday seasons.

Since 1895, when snowfall recording started in Coeur d'Alene, there have been just two other years when even less snow fell through Dec. 23.

Harris said El Nino - an abnormal warming of ocean temperatures along the equatorial regions that changes worldwide weather patterns - is to blame for the lack of snow.

"The temperatures this month have been 5-6 degrees above normal because of it," Harris said. "And we're seeing that trend throughout the country. In fact, most places have seen a warmer December than November."

The weather pattern is causing what Harris called a "snow drought" in Kootenai County - meaning all the moisture the county has seen, which is at normal levels, has come in the form of rain rather than snow.

However, Harris said El Nino is expected to "back off a bit" on Friday evening and set the stage for the first significant snowfall of the season.

"It'll really feel like a holiday then," Harris said. "We should see snow in an amount that is shovel-able and maybe even plow-able."

He added that there is a 70 percent chance of snow on Saturday night and early Sunday morning. The temperature won't get too much above freezing on Saturday, Harris said, and on Sunday the temperature is expected to stay in the high 20s.

"Then starting early next week we will see lows in the teens," Harris said. "It will be feeling more like winter then."