Snowy weather likely next week

The dry and calm weather of early January is going to switch over to a snowy period next week, forecasters said. Today and Friday are going to be dry and seasonably cold with a change in the weather coming gradually over the weekend. Highs are going to be in the lower 30s with lows in the upper teens. A series of storms are going to start crossing the region this weekend with snow likely in the mountains during the first rounds of precipitation, and less snow likely in the valleys. Spokane has a 20 percent chance of snow on Saturday night increasing to a 30 percent chance on Sunday and Monday. For the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas, snowfall should increase on Tuesday with heavier accumulations arriving early Wednesday. The Cascades and the mountains in Idaho are likely to see heavy accumulations, according to the National Weather Service’s mid-range computer model. Computer forecast models show a chance for a more potent winter storm arriving on Tuesday night. At 10 a.m., it was 18 degrees at Spokane International Airport.