Heavy snowfall expected in Cascade mountains, Idaho Panhandle on Monday

With snow expected to fall from the Cascade mountains to the Idaho Panhandle on Monday, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued by the National Weather Service.

The snow will create “treacherous driving conditions” for mountain passes, the weather service said.

A hazardous weather outlook for Eastern Washington will bring a couple inches of snow to the area from Sunday night to Monday night.

Winter weather advisories mean specific criteria for the level of snow an area will receive, meteorologist Amanda Young said. A hazardous weather outlook is less significant but a “heads-up” to people in the area that a weather system is moving through, Young said.

In Spokane proper, residents can expect about an inch of snow, Young said.

“Looking down toward South Hill they may get a couple inches,” she added.

Young said that high temperatures are forecast in the mid- to low-40s for the next few days, with snow turning to rain during the day.

Slick roads are “certainly possible” and breezy conditions should be expected, according to the weather service.

Winds should be about normal with a few gusts of up to 15 to 20 mph, Young said.

Bigger gusts can be expected near the Idaho border, reaching 30 mph.

More snow should fall in North Idaho as well, Young said.

“The further east you go, like into Coeur d’Alene, it’s going to be one to three inches,” she said.

The weather system should pass by Monday night before another one picks up Tuesday, with two to four inches of snow expected to fall in the Coeur d’Alene area, said Young.

She added that temperatures and precipitation are expected to be moderate mid-week in Spokane before another storm moves through over the weekend.