Icy roads lead to school closures, delays

Icy roads following freezing rain are resulting in several school closures and delays. Kellogg School District and Lam Christian Academy in Coeur d’Alene are closed. Okanogan, Omak, Orchard Prairie, Warden and Reardan-Edwall school districts are reporting two hour delays. There is no morning kindergarten in the Reardan-Edwall School District. Authorities are responding to several crashes in the region this morning due to slick conditions. Among others, Spokane police are reporting a three-car crash at Appleway Blvd. and Dishman Mica Road, as well as several slide offs at Indian Trail Road and Strong Road. There’s also were two rollover crashes near Old Trails Road and Trails Road, but those have been cleared. No serious injuries have been reported, according to Spokane police Officer Teresa Fuller. While the morning commute started out slippery, Fuller said the good news is “things are starting to clear up.” The National Weather Service issued a freezing rain advisory early Friday morning for parts of the region including Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Cheney. The advisory was lifted later in the morning. Temperatures rose to 39 at Spokane International Airport by noon. The weather service measured just 0.07 inches of rain overnight, but it was enough to create extremely slippery conditions, especially on walkways, parking lots and driveways. Rain is in the forecast for tonight and again on Saturday morning. The rain could turn to snow Saturday, but changeable conditions may bring more freezing rain Saturday night. Snow showers are possible into Monday. A stronger snow storm is possible on Monday.