Ready or not, here comes winter! Chances for snow enter the forecast on Tuesday afternoon for higher elevations, and overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning for much of the rest of the region—quite the drastic difference from the well-above-average temperatures we’ve seen around the Spokane metro for the last week and some change.
Make sure you go outside and enjoy a mostly clear Monday in Spokane—it’ll be the last day of above-average high temperatures for a considerable period of time, as an area of low pressure will continue to hover over the Inland Northwest for the next several days, bringing with it high temperatures in the upper-30s and low-40s for the rest of the work week starting Tuesday.
Rain showers are possible for portions of Eastern Washington north of Spokane County starting on Tuesday morning, which will transition to possible snow showers in the overnight hours Thursday night into Wednesday morning. Snow is expected to start over the Cascades Tuesday late-morning and early-afternoon, which when combined with lower daytime high and overnight low temps could mean several inches of snow accumulation in higher elevation areas of Central and Eastern Washington through Wednesday.
Mountain passes through the Cascades are expected to be hit the hardest by snow, and subsequent overnight lows in the mid to upper teens, so travel to and from Western Washington could get dicey over the next several days. It’d be a good idea to add in some extra time in your travel plans for the next several days if you need to drive through the Cascades or any of the region’s higher-elevation areas.
At this point — still subject to change — models are showing some potential relief from precipitation and the mid-October snow towards the back end of the work week, but the area of low pressure will still stick around for several more days, bringing in some cold air from Canada and keeping high temps in the upper-30s and low-40s, and overnight lows in the frigid upper-teens and low-20s into the weekend.
