Mike Prager

Cold weather forecast for this weekend is threatening to turn Thursday’s thick, heavy mess of melting snow into rugged ridges of ice. Road crews in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas were hustling to remove that traffic-stopping layer before lows drop to the teens and 20s on Saturday and Sunday.

Liam Schibel stood on the passenger rail platform in downtown Spokane and thought for a second. “This is my first time on the train,” the 7-year-old said as he waited to board a special Holiday Express excursion hosted by BNSF Railway for military members and their families on Thursday evening.

Liam Schibel stood on the passenger rail platform in downtown Spokane and thought for a second. “This is my first time on the train,” the 7-year-old said as he waited to board a special Holiday Express excursion hosted by BNSF Railway for military members and their families on Thursday evening. Rail officials said it was the company’s way of showing its appreciation for service members.

Residential streets and lightly plowed arterials have turned into a rutted mess this morning, forcing drivers to pick their way through deep tracks of soft, slushy snow.

It’s one for the record books. Tuesday’s snowstorm dumped 5.1 inches of snow at Spokane International Airport, making this the snowiest November on record, according to the National Weather Service. The month’s total as of 10 p.m. was 25.7 inches, which easily surpassed the record of 24.7 inches set in 1955.

As of Monday, the National Weather Service had measured 20.6 inches of snow this month at Spokane Internatonal Airport, making it the fifth-snowiest November on record and a good storm short of the all-time record of 24.7 inches in November 1955. That record might fall today, with light snow this morning expected to give way to heavier snowfall after 11 a.m. All told, more than 7 inches of new snow could fall in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene and other low-lying areas.

Now that the weather has our attention, it’s probably a good time to check in with the highway patrol on how to stay safe on the road this winter. Washington State Patrol Trooper Troy Briggs said the single most important thing driving in winter is simple:

Area merchants may not like the concept, but the weatherman is promising something distinctly not black for this weekend’s holiday shopping. Up to a foot of new snow is expected from a series of storms headed to the Inland Northwest today through Saturday.

Winter is not about to ease its hold on the Inland Northwest this week, although the region is getting enough of a break today for travelers to reach Thanksgiving destinations.

Whiteout conditions prevailed across a broad swath of the Inland Northwest this morning as a major arctic blast and snow storm threatened to bring the region to a standstill.

Inland Northwest residents will be digging out this morning from the first major winter storm of the season – one that brought blizzard conditions in a blast of arctic air. The three-day storm was expected to come to an end as travelers prepare to embark on one of the busiest travel periods of the year.