Spokane7
65°
February 26, 2011 in City
New round of snow due in region Sunday, Monday
Ice crystals form on a glass storm door in Spokane on Friday. Overnight temperatures were expected to drop below zero again Friday night. More cold is forecast for the coming week.
(Full-size photo)
The dry, arctic cold that settled over the Inland Northwest in the past few days will set the stage for a new round of snow, mainly on Sunday and Monday.
Northeast Washington north of Spokane and all of North Idaho are under the gun for substantial accumulations.
A winter storm watch was issued for those areas.
National Weather Service forecasters said 6 to 12 inches of new snow is possible in lower elevations of those areas and 1 to 2 feet or more could fall in the mountains.
In Spokane and the Palouse, forecasters said there remains uncertainty about snowfall amounts and whether snow may change to rain for a period of time Sunday as mild air is drawn ahead of a new offshore low-pressure area.
Even so, the forecast Friday was calling for 4 to 10 inches of snow in Spokane on Sunday and Monday.
Another snowstorm is due Tuesday night but likely will change to rain on Wednesday.
Lows by daybreak today were expected to be frigid again as arctic air hangs tough. Spokane was forecast to drop to minus 5 and Coeur d’Alene to minus 9.
On Friday morning, Spokane International Airport was at minus 4 at 7 a.m. while Coeur d’Alene was at 3 degrees, Felts Field at zero and Deer Park at minus 2.
Spokane set three daily weather records on Thursday: for snowfall at 5.4 inches, for the coldest maximum temperature at 18 degrees and for the coldest low at 3.
Temperature records were also set in Pullman, Wenatchee and Ephrata, Wash.
Today’s high may only reach 19, but a high of 33 is expected Sunday in Spokane.
Temperatures early next week will be in the mid-30s for highs and mid- to upper 20s for lows.
City plow crews will be in Browne’s Addition, clearing north-south streets Monday and east-west streets Tuesday starting at 9 a.m. both days.
Motorists are required to move parked cars off those streets during plowing or the vehicles will be towed.
MLK Jr. Way opens Thursday 
lewis8457 on February 26 at 7:20 a.m.
I wonder how much money the city makes towing the cars at Brownes addition?
Where do the people there put their cars?
Why would any one live in Brownes addition with the treatment they get from the city in the winter?
Elkay on February 26 at 8:43 a.m.
Hopefully this won’t sound too off-topic, but the county/city snow plows did a superb job — not only getting the streets cleared quickly, but with berm-less driveways! This year is unlike any other, with the care shown by the snow plowing crews. I’d like to thank them for a job very well done. Awesome, guys!!!
And lewis, good question. Where do Browne’s Addition folks park in this mess? Hard to blame the city for towing — the streets HAVE to get cleaned up. I won’t forget the fiasco in NYC where emergency vehicles couldn’t get through, causing some deaths.
polistra on February 26 at 1:20 p.m.
Agree with Elkay. I’ve been gritching and grousing “in these columns” for several years about the lack of sand, but this winter the city finally got it right. Good plowing and PLENTY of sand, which made the streets much safer between plowings.
I think the bermless driveways this time may have more to do with the form of this snow. It’s extremely poofy, and when plowed it condenses down from its original impressive height to its much lower “true” height.
Hmm. The last sentence reminds me of someone….
Ah! This is Snowki!
de3 on February 26 at 1:35 p.m.
Bermless driveways? Not in my neighborhood. Probably depends on the amount of snow (big variation around the area).
lewis8457 on February 26 at 8:01 p.m.
I live on Monroe so Thursday morning I awoke to plowed snow covering the first 7 feet of my property including my driveway.
Expecting people to move cars out of the area they live in is a bit uncaring isn’t it? Would the rest of us move all our cars 10 blocks away if the city told us too? Why can’t they do the even odd thing that way they just have to find spot across the street? If the plow trucks are too big then have a private company do it or buy a couple small plows to fit on the county owned Ford rangers.
Yes they have been doing a good job since late November when Spokane made national news showing cars sliding down Freya hill with no sand. Then all of sudden we can have sand on the streets. We couldn’t have it before when people were sliding into each other but embarrass the city on CNN and the sanding trucks arrive.