Cold air arrives as winds die down

Cold air flowing into the region after Monday’s wind storm created a winter-like feel this morning with a wind chill of 18 degrees at Spokane International Airport at 7 a.m.
The temperature at the time was 31 and winds were blowing at 21 mph.
The wind chill measures of the effect of cold air and wind against the skin.
The temperature was up to 44 at 11 a.m., but winds were still blowing at 22 mph with gusts to 26 mph at the airport.
Wind gusts should continue today even thought the steep air pressure gradient that …

Cold air flowing into the region after Monday’s wind storm created a winter-like feel this morning with a wind chill of 18 degrees at Spokane International Airport at 7 a.m.

The temperature at the time was 31 and winds were blowing at 21 mph.

The wind chill measures of the effect of cold air and wind against the skin.

The temperature was up to 44 at 11 a.m., but winds were still blowing at 22 mph with gusts to 26 mph at the airport.

Wind gusts should continue today even thought the steep air pressure gradient that brought Monday’s storm continues to relax. Gusts hit 59 mph Monday afternoon in Spokane and 60 mph in Coeur d’Alene.

Clear skies this morning could cloud up later and bring a 40 percent chance of rain or snow showers to the area after 11 a.m. Snow levels will go to about 3,000 feet this afternoon. Today’s high should reach the upper 40s in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas.

Snow was visible this morning on traffic cameras alongside the travel lanes at Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90 in the Cascades, but was not covering the roadway.

The colder air from the northwest will send temperatures down freezing again tonight and near freezing on Wednesday night.

A large area of lower air pressure is draped across the northwestern U.S. from the upper Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean. It should continue to circulate cooler air and small chances of showers, mostly in the afternoons, through Saturday.

Temperatures will remain normal through the week with highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s through Friday.

The average temperatures for Spokane for early May are 63 for a high and 39 for a low.

At 7 a.m., it was 33 in downtown Spokane, 36 in Coeur d’Alene, 32 in Deer Park and 33 in Pullman.