COEUR d'ALENE - Climatologist Cliff Harris said he received more phone calls Monday morning than on any other day in his 25 years with The Press.

"We had all these people with snow and they didn't know what to do with it," Harris said. "It was breaking limbs and knocking the blossoms off of cherry trees and what have you."

The April snowstorm, which saw low-elevation areas get about 3.3-inches of snow, didn't just set phone call records. Harris said the 2.6 inches of snow that fell between 6:55 and 7:55 a.m. was the heaviest hour the region has seen since 2009, and that the April 6 total breaks a record held since 1895.

"The oddball part about it is, we not only had more snow than what we got in March or February combined," Harris said, "but we've never had an April with more snow than that combined total."

The unusual amount of snowfall hit while most were preparing to commute to work and school, which left area law enforcement agencies responding to slide-offs and crashes across the county.

"Unfortunately, a lot of drivers were already in the summer mode of driving, even though the weather reports have been forecasting snow for the past few days," said Kootenai County Sheriff's Lt. Stu Miller. "(Monday) was like the first day of winter - part two."

Miller added that the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office responded to six wrecks and about 12 slide-offs. Idaho State Police handled 25 slide-offs and nine crashes Monday morning, according to spokeswoman Teresa Baker.

City agencies saw less activity than their larger counterparts. Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug told The Press that his department responded to three weather-related accidents this morning, and the Coeur d'Alene Police Department handled six accident calls.

Harris said the weather will get warmer during the week, and estimated temperatures could rise to the 60s by Friday. Another cold front is expected next week and could bring more snow to the area, but Harris added it won't be as substantial as Monday.

"We are in a pattern of unbelievable extremes," Harris said. "That's why I told people to not be too surprised if April comes along and has more snow. We've gone from the least snow to the most snow ever in one hour for the month of April. I've seen these extremes lately across the entire world."