Spokane-area temperatures expected to drop again next week

Spokane will see an inch or less of new snow through early Friday morning, but temperatures are expected to dip back into the teens early next week, according to the National Weather Service.

The colder weather also could bring more heavy snowfall to the area next week, the weather service reported. Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 2 could be impacted Thursday afternoon by a mixture of snow and freezing rain around Moses Lake and the northern Columbia Basin.

A relatively light dusting in the Spokane area on Wednesday followed two consecutive days of record snowfall.

The Spokane International Airport received 4 inches Sunday, breaking the record of 3.1 inches recorded on the same calendar day in 1904. Monday saw 7.2 inches, beating the 5.5-inch mark set in 1897.

Classes were delayed or canceled Tuesday at many schools in the region. Spokane Public Schools and the Freeman and Liberty school districts delayed classes by two hours again Wednesday.

Wednesday afternoon in Montana, transportation officials reported a small avalanche spilled onto I-90 near St. Regis, prompting them to close the westbound lanes.

No vehicles were caught in the avalanche, a Montana Highway Patrol captain told the Missoulian.