Forecasters see possibility of snow later in week

Cooler weather is opening the possibility of snowfall in lower elevations of the Inland Northwest on Thursday and Saturday mornings, a forecaster said Monday. Rain or snow are expected Wednesday night and Thursday morning when the snow level could drop to the valleys in the early morning hours, said forecaster John Livingston of the National Weather Service. Another two-stage storm Friday night and Saturday morning has the potential to bring accumulations to all valleys in northeast Washington and North Idaho and to elevations as low as 2,000 feet in southeast Washington and the central Idaho Panhandle. Forecast models had been inconsistent in recent days in tracking the Friday-Saturday storm across the Inland Northwest, but Livingston said it’s a situation that deserves monitoring. “One thing is for certain, Thursday, Friday and Saturday the temperatures are going to be considerably cooler,” Livingston said. Highs those three days should reach the upper 30s to possibly 40 on Saturday with lows in the upper 20s or lower 30s. Icy conditions caused problems on Monday. A series of slide-offs and rollovers were reported, including along Interstate 90 west of the Spokane-Lincoln county line and in other outlying areas. A pickup driver died from injuries in an accident on U.S. Highway 395 one mile north of Deer Park when he slammed into an oncoming log truck. National Weather Service forecasters said that moisture left over from rain on Sunday froze to roadways in the pre-dawn hours.