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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Wind chills drop tonight, snow likely Thursday

Tom Bro of T&B Sprinkler drags the air hose from his compressor through a customer's yard Monday night, Nov. 10, 2014, at 8 p.m. as he tries to complete as many blowouts as he can before the frigid overnight temperatures freeze uncleared lawn sprinkler systems. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com(509) 459-5454
Arctic air buffeted the Inland Northwest today and is expected to hold its grip over the Inland Northwest through the weekend, although winds in Spokane should ease on Wednesday. A moist storm off the Pacific Ocean could bring the region’s first lowland snowfall of the season on Thursday. The region’s mountains were dusted for the first time on Sunday and Monday. The National Weather Service said that wind chill values - the feeling of the cold on exposed skin – were expected to drop to minus-2 tonight and zero on Wednesday night. Earlier today, northeast winds gusted at 30 to 35 mph at Spokane International Airport. Wednesday’s high should reach about 27 with a low tonight and Wednesday night around 10 degrees. Winds should be much lighter by morning. Forecasters are calling for initially calm conditions with east winds going to 5 to 7 degrees in Spokane Wednesday morning. In contrast, Coeur d’Alene could get buffeted again Wednesday with northeast winds of 14 to 16 mph and gusts to 21 mph. This cold snap comes after the region enjoyed mild conditions during the first half of autumn with much of the Spokane region escaping frost or freezing weather until this week. This year is only the seventh time that the first fall reading of 32 degrees or colder has held off until November. The record for latest first frost is Nov. 11 in 1944. On Thursday, an approaching Pacific storm is going to bring a wave of moisture along the Oregon-Washington border and then migrate northward into the Inland Northwest. Snow accumulations in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene should be light with less than a half inch in Spokane Thursday night and less than an inch in Coeur d’Alene. In Shoshone County, an inch or two of snow is possible. A winter storm watch was issued this afternoon for south central and southeast Washington, including the Palouse region, and much of northern Oregon from the Cascades eastward. As Pacific moisture rides up over the cold arctic air along the ground, it will meet atmospheric conditions that are favorable for snow, possibly heavy amounts to the south of Spokane. The risk of snow arrives after 4 p.m. on Thursday and then increases Thursday from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Friday in Spokane. Pullman is forecast to receive 4 to 9 inches on Thursday and Friday. Areas to the north may be too far from the storm to see any snow. Snow was eliminated from the forecasts for Sandpoint and Colville. Temperatures will slowly moderate through the week with highs running about 30 on Thursday through Sunday and then going to the middle 30s on Monday. Lows will be about 21 on Thursday night and 17 on Friday and Saturday nights. The arctic weather has extended into western Washington and Oregon, causing damage and power outages . Winds from 40 to 50 mph toppled trees onto power lines and across roads, Associated Press reported. Portland General Electric and Clark Public Utilities reported about 28,000 outages in the Portland-Vancouver area by Tuesday afternoon. The power losses were reported from Portland’s western suburbs to Mount Hood. A fallen tree disrupted light-rail service, while another fell across BNSF Railway tracks in Vancouver. Elsewhere in western Washington, Puget Sound Energy reported more than 23,000 outages, mostly in the south King County area. The Lewis County Public Utility District said more than 5,400 homes lacked power. Falling trees caused problems on several roadways. They blocked the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 around the noon in Easton, the Washington State Patrol said. Trees also blocked the northbound lanes of state Highway 167 in south King County and state Highway 410 at Crystal Mountain near Mount Rainier, the Washington state Department of Transportation said. The winds marked a quick change from fall to winter-like weather. The National Weather Service forecast a chance of snow and freezing rain west of the Cascades on Wednesday and Thursday as the next Pacific system moves ashore. The storm could bring snow to the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River Valley and a mix of snow, freezing rain and rain across the Portland-Vancouver area and southwest Washington, forecasters said. Several inches of snow are forecast for parts of Oregon east of the Cascades. If the forecast holds, it would mean that western portions of the two states would receive their first snowfall before the Spokane region.