New snow shouldn’t be as slick

Any snow that falls over the Inland Northwest today was expected to bring a lighter brand of winter.

Two to 4 inches of snow were predicted to fall over Spokane and Coeur d’Alene through this morning after most of the Inland Northwest was placed under a snow advisory on Wednesday.

But snow falling into low-lying arctic air is completely different than the wet snow that clogged and glazed many of the region’s roads on Sunday, said Steve Bodnar, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane.

“Most of it will probably blow off the road since the road surfaces are as cold as they are,” Bodnar said.

Nearly 400 accidents, mostly minor, were reported Sunday and Monday after the roadways glazed over as the result of warmer pavement temperatures and compaction caused by traffic.

Today’s snowfall should end the worst of the winter weather through the weekend, forecasters said. A gradual moderation of temperatures could bring highs up to the freezing mark this weekend.

Snow showers are forecast for the mountains on Friday and Saturday but are not considered likely in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene through Sunday. Computer models are forecasting another possible storm on Sunday afternoon or evening.

Because of the cold, the city of Spokane activated three emergency warming centers on Tuesday to get homeless persons out of the hazardous weather.

Spokane saw a low of 1 degree on Wednesday morning, which was 9 degrees above the record for the date. Coeur d’Alene had a low of 3 degrees. Bodnar said temperatures might have gotten colder, but a weak low had formed Tuesday night over the Idaho Panhandle, dampening the flow of arctic air through the Purcell Trench along Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint and Rathdrum.

The warming sites, which are not set up for lodging, provide temporary shelter when temperatures are expected to drop to 5 degrees or lower.

On Tuesday night, 28 people sought emergency shelter at the House of Charity, whose 108 beds were already filled.

The center provides blankets and a place to get warm for the overflow.

“People are encouraged to come in here, lay down and be quiet,” said James Landry, an assistant director at the shelter.

Rusty Barnett, program director of Volunteers of America Hope House, said 34 women occupied the shelter’s regular beds, as well as a single woman in the warming center.

Spokane police reported that the cold can create opportunities for criminals, which motorists should remember to avoid.

Out of the 17 vehicles that were stolen on Tuesday, seven of them were being warmed up. All of the seven were newer models that would have been difficult to steal without their coded keys, but the keys were left in the ignitions, police said.

It turned out that November was one of the nine wettest months on record in Spokane with 4.23 inches of precipitation reported through Wednesday evening.

The last time so much precipitation was recorded in November was in 1988 when 4.35 inches fell. The record is 5.53 inches in 1897.