Easter sun to replace snow, cold

A change of weather gets started on Saturday following a snowy, cold days in the Inland Northest this week. Easter should be partly sunny and 60 in Spokane.
Friday started out with a record-tying low of 26, matching the 26 degree reading for April 6 in 1997.
By afternoon today, the National Weather Service warned that a nearly stationary line of hail, snow and rain showers was making driving hazardous along a wide area of Northeast Washington and the upper Columbia Basin.
The short-term forecast issued at 12:20 p.m. said the shower line would persist through 6 p …

A change of weather gets started on Saturday following a snowy, cold days in the Inland Northest this week. Easter should be partly sunny and 60 in Spokane.

Friday started out with a record-tying low of 26, matching the 26 degree reading for April 6 in 1997.

By afternoon today, the National Weather Service warned that a nearly stationary line of hail, snow and rain showers was making driving hazardous along a wide area of Northeast Washington and the upper Columbia Basin.

The short-term forecast issued at 12:20 p.m. said the shower line would persist through 6 p.m.

It included areas to the west of Spokane along the U.S. Highway 2 corridor, forecasters said.

Initially, forecasters said the showers would persist until 2 p.m., but they expanded the warning until 5 p.m. and now to 6 p.m.

Snow pellets known as graupel and rain fell in Spokane early this afternoon.

Extreme cold air aloft combined with relatively warmer air on the ground that rose into the cold, creating the intense showers.

The low pressure area that brought the cold air aloft is giving way to higher air pressure this weekend with highs of 60 by Easter and in the low 60s Monday and Tuesday.