Expected high would set record for date

Today’s expected high temperature of 65 degrees would set a record.

The previous record high of 60 degrees was set in 1921, according to the National Weather Service.

The wet warm front will continue to move through the Inland Northwest today, bringing the total precipitation from Sunday night through Tuesday night to about one inch.

Across the state line in Coeur d’Alene, the Saturday overnight low of 49 degrees was so warm it set a record. Today’s high there is expected to reach 61 degrees.

Since Thursday, some areas west of the Cascades have received nearly eight inches of rain caused by a series of smaller systems splitting off from the main storm that remains centered over the North Pacific. More rain is expected today, increasing the already high risk of flash floods.

Strong and gusty southwesterly winds are expected today in the Columbia Basin and Palouse areas, said Paul Bos of the National Weather Service.

A cold front will move into the area Tuesday night, bringing lower temperatures; snow levels north of I-90 are expected to drop from the current 6,500 feet to 4,000 to 5,000 feet.

Bos said the outlook for the rest of November is temperatures in the low 40s, a little below normal, with slightly above average precipitation.

– Kandis Carper

Addy, Wash.

Highway 395 closed after rockslide

A stretch of Highway 395 north of Addy and south of Colville was closed for about nine hours when three two-ton boulders rolled onto the roadway early Sunday morning. A car and a truck were damaged by the rocks but the vehicles’ occupants suffered only minor injuries, said Washington State Patrol spokesman Trooper Jeff Sevigney.

Heavy rainfall in the area may have loosened the soil causing the rocks to break loose. The road was reopened Sunday after the boulders were removed and following an inspection of the hillside by highway engineers.

– Kandis Carper

Boise

Southern Idaho soldier killed in Iraq

An Idaho soldier died Saturday in Baghdad, becoming at least the 18th person from the state to be killed in Iraq since the United States invaded in March 2003.

Spc. James Lee Bridges, 22, of Buhl, Idaho, died from a gunshot wound, according to the Department of Defense. Bridges was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Striker Brigade Combat Team at Fort Wainwright in Alaska, a news release said.

A spokeswoman with the Army Public Affairs office in Virginia said she didn’t have any details of Bridge’s death. Attempts to contact members of Bridge’s family in southern Idaho weren’t successful.

At least 12 American troops have been killed in Iraq this month, following October when 105 Americans were killed.

More than 2,800 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since the war began more than three years ago.

– Associated Press

Albany, Ore.

No injuries following eight-car derailment

Eight train cars derailed in downtown Albany early Sunday, striking one house and forcing occupants of another half-dozen to evacuate because of downed power lines.

People were home when the cars derailed, but no one was injured, said Wanda Omdahl, a spokeswoman for the Albany Fire Department. A city official later determined that the house was safe enough for the family – along with their six cats and three dogs – to remain.

The cause of the derailment is being investigated by Pacific & Willamette Railroad.

– Associated Press