New year will get off to frigid start as cold spell set to linger in Spokane area

Stay bundled up, because Spokane’s not getting warmer anytime soon.

The National Weather Service in Spokane projected temperatures to fall below zero after sundown on New Year’s Eve. On Saturday, morning temperatures should be in the single-digits and afternoon highs will likely be in the teens.

Joey Clevenger, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said cloud cover was expected to dissipate Friday evening. Cloud cover can help trap warmer air, so as the clouds disappear, temperatures drop.

Clevenger said that next week will still be cold, albeit not as cold as the last week of December.

“We’re finally going to get some warmer air coming in, but that’s all relative,” he said. “We’re looking upper teens to 20s for lows and highs will be peaking right around freezing.”

The National Weather Service projects 2 to 4 inches of snow on Sunday and Monday, which could make for a messy morning commute to start the work week, Clevenger said.

Clevenger said the snow should let up mid-week before another weather system comes in Thursday or Friday.

Snowqualmie Pass on Interstate 90 was open as of Friday evening, according to the Washington Department of Transportation.