COEUR d'ALENE - Sunday's snowfall was the largest one-day event since the massive snow storms that occurred in the winter of 2008.

Depending where the snow fell, Kootenai County received between 9 and 15 inches of snow. Climatologist Cliff Harris's weather station measured 11.5 inches.

Harris said 9 inches fell by the lake in Coeur d'Alene, but areas like Hauser Lake got 15-plus inches. The last time Coeur d'Alene had a similar snow event was Jan. 27, 2008, which was officially tallied at 15.5 inches.

"We had a lot of snow, but this isn't going to be like those winters of '08 and '09, or '07 and '08," Harris said, explaining those two back-to-back winters accumulated a combined 318.5 inches due to the La Nina weather pattern that was in place.

Currently our region is in an El Nino weather pattern, which is much warmer than La Nina. Harris said the El Nino pattern can cause a lot of collisions of cold and warm air that result in large amounts of snow, but that snow usually melts away quickly.

Harris said he doesn't expect to see another La Nina pattern occur for another four or five years, when we might see one month with more than 100 inches of snow. By comparison, in the month of December 2008, more than 87 inches of snow fell in our region.

"We could get a winter that could break that record," Harris said, predicting that could occur in 2019 or 2020. "What we got Sunday was a little taste of the next big winter."

Harris said if the cold air had stalled over our region for much longer, there could have been a lot more weather-related trouble.

Sunday's storm caused many accidents and closed schools Monday across Kootenai County. Many people were also stranded in their homes - especially in the rural areas of the county.

Tim Martin, street superintendent for the city of Coeur d'Alene, said his crews have been working nonstop since 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. He hoped to have the city streets completely cleared by 10 p.m. Monday.

"It's been a rough one," Martin said. "Lots of snow and now we're chasing water."

Martin said his crews are relieved that the snow stopped.

"We got a little bit of a reprieve," he said. "There may be a chance of more snow on Friday or Saturday, but that gives us time to plow everything out and get the berms all picked up."

Harris said the rest of the week should be warmer and there will likely be a lot of dense fog due to warm air hitting the snow.

"Right now, I am keeping an eye on the cold air on the east side of the Rockies," he said. "I do believe we will have more snow and it should be coming Friday or Saturday."

He said if that cold air comes over the Rockies and collides with the warmer wet weather from the Pacific, another heavy load of snow could drop. Harris said it could deliver 6 to 10 inches of snow.

As for the next big winter, people will have to wait for the next solar cycle to slow.

"This has nothing to do with global warming," he said. "There is going to be interesting weather coming. I can guarantee that - just not yet."