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Some snow expected to fall Monday in Palouse, Spokane areas, with limited impact on commute

The weather service Spokane office says there is an 11% chance more than 2 inches of snow will fall in Spokane. (Courtesy National Weather Service)
By Sydney Brown sydneyb@spokesman.com
The weather service Spokane office says there is an 11% chance more than 2 inches of snow will fall in Spokane. (Courtesy National Weather Service)

Spokane will see a light dusting of snow starting at sunrise on Monday, the National Weather Service’s Spokane office said.

From about 7-10 a.m. roughly ¼ inch of snow is expected to fall in the Spokane area, said Ron Miller, a meteorologist with the NWS Spokane office.

After 10 a.m. an additional ¾ inch is expected to stick due to the around-freezing temperatures forecasted for Monday, he said.

A low of 24 degrees was forecasted for Sunday night, and the high for Monday was predicted at 33 degrees. Miller said wind on Monday would be “really light,” and the day would likely remain cold, cloudy and lightly snowy.

“We’re not now expecting much of an impact on the morning commute,” Miller said. “(Low temperatures) can actually help things because if the roads are nice and cold, and the snow is nice and cold, the snow tends not to want to stick on the road as much.”

Coeur d’Alene was forecasted to see about 1 to 2 inches of snow, according to the weather service.

Those conditions are normal for this time of year, Miller said, and a contrast to last week when Spokane broke several warm-weather records after temperatures hovered between 50 and 60 degrees.

“Last week was the weird weather, this week is going to be more normal weather,” Miller said.

The Palouse and Columbia Basin were expected on Monday to see more snow than Spokane with 1 to 2 inches in Pullman and 2 to 3 inches in Lewiston, according to a graphic from the National Weather Service in Spokane.

Wind gusts on Wednesday were expected to reach 35 to 45 mph for Spokane, the Columbia Basin, the Palouse and Wenatchee areas. The wind means milder weather with a high of 41 degrees, but Miller said it will probably not feel like the warmest day of the week due to the gusts.

About 8 to 10 inches of snow is expected to fall Wednesday in surrounding mountain passes but will likely miss hitting Spokane or Coeur d’Alene with substantial snowfall, he said.

“The metro areas will see a dusting at best for Wednesday,” Miller said.