Brutal cold prompts several 911 calls overnight in Spokane; rising temperatures, snow might make for dicey holiday travel

Whether you’re traveling west or east for the holiday weekend, authorities are warning to be ready for wintry driving conditions.

After Thursday morning’s brutal cold, temperatures across the region are expected to slowly rise through Christmas, with potential daytime highs in the 40s in Spokane next week. Before that, several rounds of snow and ice are expected to fall beginning Friday morning, adding to the potential for localized flooding on the Palouse and in urban areas during the week before New Year’s Day.

“We’re in a very cold, frigid air mass right now,” said Jeremy Wolf, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane. “As we transition out of it, there’s a lot of uncertainty for when temperatures warm up above freezing.”

Temperatures reached 10 below zero at the Spokane International Airport on the West Plains overnight Thursday, the lowest reading since Feb. 26, 2011. Add in winds out of the north gusting to close to 20 mph, and windchill readings reached minus 31 degrees at the airport and minus 14 degrees at Felts Field.

Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said his agency responded to four overnight 911 calls for exposure cases, none of which resulted in deaths as of Thursday morning.

Overnight Friday will bring bitterly cold temperatures once again, but they should be slightly less extreme than Thursday. The overnight low forecasted at the Spokane International Airport is expected to be minus 2.

Staff at the Trent Avenue homeless shelter reported 286 people stayed overnight on Thursday, said Brian Coddington, a spokesman with the city of Spokane. The Trent Resource and Assistance Center, 4320 E. Trent Ave., will continue normal operations overnight Friday, Coddington said.

Additional shelter spaces can be found at sheltermespokane.org.

Traveling conditions over the holiday weekend

Though it’ll be warmer starting Friday, the warming trend will bring with it the threat of more snow and ice leading into Christmas Day.

The Cascades are expected to get the worst of the storm, with the best chance of snow Thursday after 10 p.m. at Snoqualmie Pass. Between 4 inches and 6 inches could fall by Friday evening.

The pass closed Thursday morning after a crash on westbound Interstate 90 near North Bend. The Washington State Patrol reported no major injuries in the crash, but one trooper was struck in their patrol car by two vehicles, according to Trooper Rick Johnson.

Eastbound traffic on I-90 reopened just before noon Thursday.

Stevens Pass was open Thursday, but traction tires were required in both directions, and oversized vehicles were not permitted. Up to a foot of snow is expected at Stevens Pass through Friday evening, according to forecasters with snowfall beginning around 10 p.m. as well. Windchill factors on Stevens Pass should remain below zero through noon Friday.

The snow should reach the Spokane metro area by Friday morning, with chances increasing greatly after 5 a.m. and remaining likely until after 8 p.m. Forecasters are predicting 1 to 3 inches in Spokane, with an additional inch possible on Saturday before switching to rain on Christmas.

Fourth of July and Lookout passes to the east will also be hit by snow and ice, Wolf said. Forecasters say it’ll start late Friday morning.

“The snow levels are coming up by Sunday evening to about 6,000 feet,” Wolf said. “Even over the passes, it does not look like there will be snow on Sunday. It’d be mostly rain.”

There may be some pockets of freezing rain, particularly in the Columbia Basin and the eastern side of the Cascades through the weekend, Wolf said.

Regardless of when travelers leave to reach their holiday destination, it’s likely they’ll run into wintry weather, he said.

“There’s not one day we can just guarantee there won’t be weather impacts,” Wolf said.

Warming temperatures will likely lead to flooding in both rural and urban areas beginning next week, especially on the Palouse, forecasters said.

Rain is in the forecast Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Spokane with temperatures potentially reaching the 40s by Tuesday.

Daytime highs have not reached 40 degrees in Spokane since Nov. 7, according to weather service data.