Winter Tease Snow May Fly Before Temperatures Warm Up Again

Snow covered the high mountains of northeast Washington and North Idaho on Tuesday.

And for the first time this season, a chance of snow was listed in the forecast for Spokane and vicinity.

The upper reaches of Mount Spokane were dressed with a white coat Tuesday morning, and 7 inches of snow were reported at Silver Mountain in North Idaho.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday afternoon said there was a small risk of snow this morning in the wake of a fast-moving weather system that originated off the coast of southeast Alaska.

That storm was expected to pass over the region by daybreak today, creating the risk of some flakes, but no accumulation.

That’s quite a change from last week’s summer-like temperatures.

Weather Service forecaster Ron Miller said October in the Inland Northwest can go from warm to woolly in just a few days.

There is some encouraging news, however. “This will be a brief cold snap,” Miller said.

Lows are expected to dip into the upper 20s tonight before rebounding Thursday and Friday as another rainstorm approaches the Washington coast from the Pacific Ocean.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo