COEUR d’ALENE — Snowflakes Saturday might look like tumbling gold coins to a bunch of happy shoppers.

Backed by an insurance policy, Clark’s Diamond Jewelers in downtown Coeur d’Alene will be paying off a bet if Mother Nature cranks up the tears and turns down the thermostat.

“We’ve got a good chance Friday night and Saturday to pick up at least 3 inches of snow,” Press climatologist Cliff Harris said Tuesday. “I give it at least a 50-50 shot, maybe 60-40.”

Three inches of snow between midnight Friday and midnight Saturday would result in Clark’s refunding all purchases customers made between Nov. 22 and Dec. 31.

Owner “Jeweler Jane” Clark said the haul, if it happens, will be substantial.

“We’re looking at refunding more than half a million dollars,” she said.

She added that a representative of the insurance company called Tuesday morning after seeing a forecast that could foreshadow a big payout. The excitement in Clark’s on Tuesday afternoon was likely greater than that at the insurance company.

“These are the best odds we’ve ever had,” Jeweler Jane said. “In 2005 we hit it and insurance companies wouldn’t play with us for the next decade.”

She also advised that if 3 inches or more is verified at Cliff’s weather station on Player Drive in central Coeur d’Alene, payoffs won’t happen immediately. She said Clark’s will reach out to the lucky investors when it’s received payment from the insurance company.

Harris, who was consulted by Clark’s last fall and picked Jan. 11 as a good time for a hearty snowfall, said warm temperatures rather than plentiful precip are the bigger concern. But at this point, he’s projecting between 3 and 7 inches of snow Friday night and Saturday.

“It could be more because the system is starting to slow up a little bit,” he said. “Remember, we only need 3 inches Saturday.”

Warmth has been with us a while. Harris noted that Coeur d’Alene had its warmest first day of winter dating back to at least 1895 — 53 degrees on Dec. 21. He also said 22.5 inches of snow for the season is well behind the normal of 38 inches by now.

“But we’re going to make it up, if I’m right,” he said.

A new weather pattern starts Thursday, when the rain-to-snow switch should flip, he said.

“We’re going to be in the northwest flow with tons of snow,” the poet added.

Longer term, Harris said snow season should reach into early March, “then we’ll go into spring and warmer again.”

The unseasonably warm weather lately has distinct upsides, the optimistic Harris noted.

“We’ve saved 25 to 30 percent on heating bills, and we don’t have to shovel rain,” he said. “There’s always something to be thankful for.”

For Clark’s holiday shoppers, Thanksgiving might arrive this weekend.