Snow, bitter cold on the way

It may not have been a white Christmas for many in the Inland Northwest, but Mother Nature is poised to rectify that this weekend, forecasters say. Three to five inches of snow could fall by Sunday in the Spokane area, with more expected in the Idaho Panhandle, the Palouse and the mountains. With the snow will come plunging temperatures, with daytime highs forecasted in the lower 30s this weekend dropping to the teens by early next week. The storm is also going to bring breezy to windy conditions, especially in the Palouse where the winds could cause drifting, forecasters said. A winter storm warning was posted this afternoon for North Idaho, the Palouse, north Spokane County, Stevens County, Pend Oreille County, the northeast Blue Mountains and Camas Prairie southeast of Lewiston. A winter weather advisory was posted for the east slopes of the Cascades and the Spokane urban area. Areas to the southwest of Spokane in the Columbia Basin may see rain by mid-day on Saturday. Travel across mountain passes is expected to be treacherous. Snowfall should become heavier around 4 a.m. A winter storm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for the northern Idaho panhandle, including Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry. Spokane and much of Eastern Washington, including Pullman, Colville and north to the Canadian border, remain under a hazardous weather outlook. Forecasters predict this storm will produce the greatest snow accumulations of a season that has seen a scarcity. Two tenths of an inch of snow has been measured this month at Spokane International Airport, leaving a deficit of more than 14 inches from our seasonal normal at this time of the month. Snowfall should begin shortly after midnight and pick up throughout the morning, with the heaviest precipitation expected to fall throughout the day Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.