Winter Storm

On Thursday, Dec. 18, 2008, much of the Inland Northwest awoke to a heavy coating of snow. Which kept falling. And falling. Spokane ended up with 23.3 inches over 34 hours ending at 4 p.m. Thursday. Coeur d’Alene had 25 inches by Thursday morning. Dozens of roofs collapsed. Stores sold out of roof rakes and snow shovels. Schools and offices closed down for multiple days. Additional snowfall would make December the snowiest on record with 61.5 inches. By the end of the winter, 93.6 inches had fallen at the airport, besting 1949-50 as the snowiest winter on the books. With the 92.6 inches that fell in the winter of 2007-08, Spokane also set a snow record for back-to-back years.

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News > Spokane

Some schools closed or delayed Friday

Fri., Jan. 9, 2009

List of school closures or delays.

News > Spokane

North Idaho seeing worst of weather

Thu., Jan. 8, 2009

Spokane appears to have escaped the worst of the snowpack melt off and rain. Flood warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service for the Coeur d'Alene River in Cataldo and the Palouse River, said John Fox, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "We are seeing ice jams in the St. Joe River."

News > Spokane

Local traffic smooth

Thu., Jan. 8, 2009

Traffic around Spokane and Coeur d'Alene is moving along smoothly on metro streets as well as Interstate 90, police say.

News > Washington Voices

Boy Scouts become snow angels

Thu., Jan. 8, 2009

The phones are ringing off the hook at the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts of America. Since Dec. 22 nearly 150 people have called asking for help with snow shoveling and the calls keep coming in. “We get more frequent calls from people when they get a really big dump,” said Steve Yackel, director of field services for the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts of America, and the keeper of the long list. “We’ve always gotten these requests, but this is the first year we’ve put it on the Web site and gone directly to the troop leaders for help.”

News > Washington Voices

West Plains cities in emergency mode

Thu., Jan. 8, 2009

The cities of Cheney and Airway Heights were still in a state of emergency this week as yet another storm coated the region Sunday night. Cheney called out the National Guard Friday and Saturday to give snow crews a break. The fleet had been working 24 hours a day in shifts since the first storm hit Dec. 17.

News > Spokane

Cold, wet, sloppy mess

Thu., Jan. 8, 2009

After a month of record-breaking wintry weather, Wednesday’s big thaw busted up a few layers of snow and ice that have choked thoroughfares and threatened roofs with collapse. But the disruption brought by weather wasn’t over: Spokane Public Schools planned to close today for more snow and ice removal.

News > Idaho

Rain and snow melt a concern

Wed., Jan. 7, 2009

An ice jam was backing up the Palouse River in Colfax this afternoon, and debris was flooding across roadways in the Palouse region as a strong January thaw brought an end to nearly four weeks of record-setting winter weather. Temperatures rose to the mid- and upper-40s today across much of the region, even hitting 50 in Pullman.

News > Pacific NW

Western Washington under weather too

Wed., Jan. 7, 2009

SEATTLE — Rain and high winds lashed Washington state Wednesday, causing widespread avalanches, mudslides, flooding and road closures from rapid snowmelt. At least three people were rescued by boat.

News > Spokane

A December to remember

Wed., Jan. 7, 2009

It was one for the record books. December was the snowiest month in the Inland Northwest since record- keeping began in 1881. Some of the startling statistics: 61.5 inches of snow fell in Spokane during December, while in Coeur d’Alene the National Weather Service total was 56.1 inches. An average December in the region brings just under 14 inches of snow.

News > Spokane

Timeline of December 2008 snow

Wed., Jan. 7, 2009

Wednesday, Dec. 17: The snow begins to fall lightly in the morning and in earnest by late afternoon. Commuters get stuck on streets leading to the South Hill. Police eventually declare that, except for major arterials, “motorists should consider ALL streets in Spokane closed.” The snowstorm is the result of “the alignment of everything,” says National Weather Service forecaster John Livingston. Thursday, Dec. 18: Spokane ends up with 23 inches by the end of the day. Coeur d’Alene boasts 25 inches. School districts and colleges throughout the Inland Northwest close, as do most government offices. Spokane Transit Authority suspends all but four of its 39 routes. Travel ranges from difficult to impossible out of Spokane International Airport; at least 75 travelers spend the night there. The Christmas Bureau shuts its doors to poor families and individuals for the first time in its 50-year history. Sacred Heart Medical Center cancels elective surgeries. Stores and malls close early. The Washington State Patrol responds to almost 200 collisions. Two state highways are closed – routes 194 and 272 in Whitman County – as are several Kootenai County roads on the Rathdrum Prairie. “This one is absolutely off the Richter scale,” says Coeur d’Alene’s deputy city administrator, Jon Ingalls.

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