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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Weekend weather: Pacific storms bring windy and cooler conditions

A series of Pacific storms is lined up and headed toward the Inland Northwest over the next several days while temperatures cool down enough to stop a sharp runoff of melting snow from lower mountain slopes.

The incoming storms will also sweep windy conditions across the region later today and again on Friday.

Snow levels are expected to run about 3,000 to 4,000 feet in elevation as each storm approaches.

Cold front passages will drop snow levels to about 2,000 feet, according to National Weather Service forecasters.

Four to 11 inches of new snow are possible in the mountains, depending on location, forecasters said. That will help increase mountain snowpacks that remain healthy in middle to upper slopes.

Upper elevation cold air and low air pressure associated with the storms could allow snow and hail to mix down to valley locations in the wake of each frontal system.

Winds are expected to increase Thursday morning with arrival of an initial cold front and continue through the day with gusts as high as 35 mph in the Columbia Basin, Palouse and West Plains of Spokane, forecasters said.

A second cold front Thursday evening may cause an increase in southwest winds. Stronger gusts at 40 mph or higher are possible.

Southwest winds will also kick up again on Friday, peaking at about 35 mph in the late afternoon and evening.

The weather should calm down with partly sunny skies on Saturday and Sunday before a new weather system arrives later on Sunday.

Highs are going to fall from the 50-degree readings earlier this week to the middle and upper 40s with lows in the 30s in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

Several rivers in the Northwest, including the Coeur d’Alene and Yakima rivers, had steep rises in flow this week, but were expected to be subsiding by today.

As of Monday, snowpack measurements in Eastern Washington and North Idaho stood at 93 to 132 percent of normal.