WINTER STORM WARNING – early season snow promises traffic and homeowner headaches

You’ll wake up Friday to a cloudy fall morning, but by the evening commute, winter will have arrived in a big way.  It will start with the snow.  Snow will develop around the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area by around noon.  A WINTER STORM WARNING will take effect for most of the area Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday morning.  Snowfall totals of 3 – 7″ will be common in the valleys.   However, some of the lowest elevations (below 2,000′) will receive a little less, as the snow will turn to a rain snow mix late in the day.   High temperatures will only reach the mid 30s, which is 20 degrees below average.

The impacts from this snow will be substantial.  Wet and slushy roads will make the evening commute tricky.  The heavy, wet snow could burden trees that still have leaves.  This could result in wide-spread broken tree limbs and potential power outages.

The cold weather takes over for the weekend.  As the snow tapers off early Saturday morning, a cold northerly wind will take over.  Expect low temperatures in the single digits and  low teens both Saturday and Sunday nights.  Wind chill readings might drop below zero.  Next week will be dry, and a gradual warming trend will bring teachers back up closer to average.