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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wind advisory dropped

Snow coming to mountains Saturday

The National Weather Service has cancelled a wind advisory for the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas as well as the Columbia Basin and Palouse regions that had been issued this morning. Winds gusted to 40 mph this morning, and have continued bringing gusts above 30 mph throughout the day. The raw weather is expected to continue Saturday. A winter storm watch is in effect for Saturday for mountain locations of Northeast Washington and North Idaho above 3,500 feet. Snow accumulations should be in the 6 to 12 inch range with up to 15 inches possible at elevations above 5,000 feet. That will be good news to ski areas since mountain snow in November has a chance of remaining on the slopes as the winter season approaches. Cooler conditions are expected through most of next week. The source of the stormy weather is a strong Pacific low pressure system that sent a cold front across the region early today after a period of rainfall overnight. A cold upper-elevation low pressure area followed the front and should moved into the region today. Steep temperature and air pressure differences are fueling the stormy weather and could set off a few isolated thunderstorms between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., forecasters said. Highs today should reach the lower 50s. Gusty winds will continue tonight through Saturday night, but the speeds will not be as high, forecasters said. More showers or rain are predicted tonight and Saturday. Highs begin to cool this weekend into the 40s. Lows are expected in the 30s. The storm will linger Sunday with a 50 percent chance of showers in Spokane, but higher chances of precipitation in mountain areas. Winds should subside to lighter breezes. A break in the storms is seen for Monday, but the chance of precipitation returns Monday night. A cooling trend is creating a chance of snow or rain showers starting on Tuesday night. At 7 a.m., Spokane International Airport was reporting gusts to 37 mph and a temperature of 41. In Pullman, winds gusted to 41 with a temperature of 42. Similar temperatures were reported elsewhere.