A slow transition to more winter-like conditions is expected this weekend, but today’s weather should remain relatively mild with increasing clouds and highs in the middle 40s.
Residents across the Midwest and the Plains who made it home for Christmas were digging out today after a fierce snowstorm while those who spent the night in airports and shelters tried to resume their journeys. Meteorologists warned that roads across the region remained dangerous.
Cool temperatures and sunshine are in the forecast for today and Christmas. Today's high is expected to reach 27 while the low will be in the teens. Christmas should be a repeat of today. For holiday travelers, roads are in good shape, officials say. So far, there are no restrictions on Snoqualmie Pass.
The weather outlook is rain, and more rain. A 30 percent chance of rain today increases to 50 percent tonight, and rain is forecast for Saturday and Sunday, too, according to the National Weather Service.
A partly sunny Friday will give way to a forecast of snow through next week, when we finally should escape temperatures in the single digits and teens.
The snow is on its way.
Temperatures will rise and the clouds will usher in a 30 percent chance of snow in Spokane by Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
Within the last month, our warm-water phenomenon El Niño has gained strength. We still have a moderate El Niño along the equatorial regions of the south-central Pacific Ocean. Across the Inland Northwest, El Niño events usually indicate drier and milder winters with an increasing chance of freezing rain or ice storms. Although more precipitation falls as rain than snow in the lower elevations, the mountain areas will often get mostly snow with only occasional rain.
Black Friday also will be a wet Friday in the Inland Northwest.
Rain tonight is expected to continue into the morning as thousands of shoppers line up at stores for post-holiday bargains.
Bing Crosby didn’t have to dream of a white Christmas — he could bank on it.
The crooner was from Spokane, a city that is among the most likely to have a white Christmas each year. According to weather experts, Spokane has a white Christmas about 70 percent of the time.
Holiday travelers have a clear route to Western Washington despite recent mountain snow. The roadways on Snoqualmie and Stevens passes are wet, but that's about it.
Rain and snow are heading into the Inland Northwest for the weekend.
The National Weather Service is forecasting a 60 percent chance of rain this afternoon in Spokane as a cold front moves through.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for Eastern Washington and North Idaho, with six to 12 inches of snow expected in the mountains above 3,500 feet.
If you’ve been dreading another winter of heavy snow, something is happening thousands of miles away that might ease your mind. El Niño is brewing in the tropical Pacific Ocean, and it’s expected to keep temperatures above normal and snowfall below normal this winter in the Inland Northwest.
Snow levels are expected to drop from the mountains to the valley floors Tuesday morning, creating the possibility of the first snowfall of the season at lower elevations of the Inland Northwest.
