Snow possible Monday through Wednesday

Spring-like temperatures today are going to give way to a shot of late winter weather with snow expected in all but the lowest elevations of the region this week. The first in a pair of storms on Monday is expected to initially bring rain and snow to lower elevations, but a second front on Tuesday night and Wednesday may be cold enough to bring snow during overnight hours to all elevations. That will be in sharp contrast to the warm weather of the past several days. Spokane International Airport was at 54 degrees at 1 p.m. today. Highs will drop to the upper 30s to lower 40s on Monday through Wednesday and then to the upper 40s on Thursday as temperatures start to rebound. The normal high for Spokane at this time of year is 46. “That’s actually the longest stretch of below-normal temperatures we’ve seen since late December,” said forecaster Jon Fox in a National Weather Service briefing. The change is coming from a shift in the upper-level jet stream pattern, which is going to be pushing storms toward the Inland Northwest from the Gulf of Alaska starting tonight. The forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of rain after 4 a.m. and then a 70 percent chance of snow mixed into it on Monday, then 20 percent of snow showers on Monday night. Gusty winds to 21 mph are possible Monday afternoon. A break between storms on Tuesday will be cool with a high in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene near 38 and partly sunny skies. There is a 60 percent chance of snow on Tuesday night and a 60 percent chance of a rain and snow mix on Wednesday. Up to an inch of snow is expected in lower elevations near Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and in the upper Columbia Basin with up to 3 inches in the mountains. Spring-like weather could return on Friday, but the nice weather is not expected to remain over the region next weekend. This week’s weather should help build some additional snow pack in the mountains where the mild winter has left a potential spring and summer runoff of only about half of normal in the Spokane River basin as of March 1. The high today at Spokane International Airport was 56. The record high for today in Spokane was 68 in 1889. Sunrise Monday is at 6:17 a.m. with sunset at 5:45 p.m. Daylight savings time begins one week from today.