March arrives like a lion; snow pounds Pullman

It may be March 1, but there is still no sign of winter letting up. “The winter blitz continues over portions of the Inland Northwest,” a National Weather Service forecaster said in a morning forecast discussion posted on the web. A front that stalled over southeast Washington and the Palouse region is expected to migrate northward today bringing rain and snow to the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas where a high of 38 is expected. A winter storm warning was in effect today for the Palouse region, the mountains of North Idaho and portions of the central Panhande. The last three days of stormy weather have been potent. The stalled front dropped heavy snow near Moscow and Pullman. A spotter five miles north-northeast of Moscow reported 19 inches of snow from the storm beginning on Monday. Of that, 9 inches fell overnight. One report near Pullman had 15.5 inches and another location just east of Moscow had 10.5 inches. School closures this morning reflect the areas with the heaviest snow. They include Garfield-Palouse, Kootenai Joint, Colton and St. Maries Joint school districts, and the Coeur D’Alene Tribal School. The Colfax and Steptoe districts began two hours late with buses operating on emergency routes only. Mullan Pass reported a record amount of precipitation with 1.31 inches of water equivalent measured there. That broke the record of 0.86 inches set in 1955. Bear Mountain at 5,400 feet in North Idaho had 30 inches of snow over two days ending on Monday at 11 a.m. The Schmidt Haus at Stevens Pass in the North Cascades had 31 inches of snow for the same period. Spokane International Airport on Monday had a peak wind gust of 58 mph. Spangle had a gust at 52 mph. Forecasters said the stormy weather will continue into the weekend with a short break on Thursday and Friday. Rain and snow are likely in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene depending on time of day and the phases of the storm. Highs on Tuesday through Saturday will be in the 40s with lows in the upper 20s and 30s. At 7 a.m., it was 30 at Spokane International Airport, 34 at Felts Field, 32 in Deer Park and Coeur d’Alene and 31 in Pullman. It was snowing in Pullman. For the season, Spokane has now had 64 inches of snowfall, which is nearly 20 inches greater than the 30-year average. The record high in Spokane today was 64 set in 1905. City crews will once again be plowing in Browne’s Addition starting at 9 a.m. and clearing east-west avenues. Motorists must move out of parking areas on the streets or face towing and impoundment, which costs about $300. Eleven vehicles were towed on Monday during plowing of north-south streets.