SPOKANE, Wash. — Dozens of school districts across Eastern Washington and Idaho will be closed or delayed on Friday because of ice and poor road conditions following heavy snow.
Coeur d'Alene Public Schools, Post Falls, and Moses Lake are among the dozens of schools and districts that are closed today. The superintendent of Deer Park School District, which is closed, said the conditions are some of the worst he's ever seen.
Spokane Public Schools, Central Valley School District, and Mead School District are among the many that will be on a 2-hour delay.
Freezing rain fell on top of several inches of snow on Thursday in the Spokane area. Drivers should be prepared for the slickest conditions they've faced all season. In other areas, more than half a foot of snow fell into late Thursday and schools decided to close on Friday to give plows more time to catch up.
Whether it be ice or snow, roads are difficult in many areas, leading districts to make the decision to cancel or delay school.
School closings and delays for Friday, Jan. 7
Closed
- All Saints Catholic School
- Assumption Catholic School
- Cataldo Catholic School
- Cheney Public Schools
- Christian Heritage School
- Coeur d'Alene School District
- Coeur d'Alene Tribal School
- Cornerstone Christian Academy in Post Falls (Both school and childcare)
- Davenport School District
- Deer Park School District
- Evergreen School
- Freeman School District
- Harrington School District
- Holy Family Catholic School
- Kellogg School District
- Kootenai School District #274
- Lake City Academy
- Lake Pend Oreille School District
- Lakeland School District
- Lapwai School District
- Liberty School District
- Libby Schools (MT)
- Lind-Ritzville School District
- Loon Lake School District
- Medical Lake School District
- Moscow Charter School
- Moscow School District No. 281
- Moses Lake School District
- Newport School District
- Nine Mile Falls School District
- Plummer-Worley School District
- Post Falls School District
- Potlatch School District
- Riverside School District
- Spokane International Academy
- St. Charles School Catholic School
- St. John Vianney School
- St. Maries Joint School District
- St. Mary's Catholic School in Spokane Valley
- St. Mary's Parish School in Moscow
- St. Thomas More
- Summit Valley School District
- Trinity Catholic School (school and childcare)
- Wallace School District
- West Bonner School District
- Whitepine Joint School District
Delayed
- Central Valley School District, 2-hour delay
- Chewelah School District, 2-hour delay
- Colville School District, 2-hour delay
- Ephrata School District, 2-hour delay
- Garfield-Palouse School District, 2-hour delay
- Gonzaga Preparatory School: 2-hour delay
- Kettle Falls School District, 2-hour delay
- Mary Walker School District, 2-hour delay
- Mead School District: 2-hour delay. Buses will also run two hours late and on snow routes.
- Northport School District, 2-hour delay
- Onion Creek School, 2-hour delay
- Orchard Prairie School District, 2-hour delay
- Reardan-Edwall School District, 2-hour delay
- Spokane Public Schools, 2-hour delay
- Southside Christian School: 2-hour delay
- Sprague-Lamont School District, 2-hour delay
- St. George's School (Spokane), 2-hour delay
- West Valley School District, 2-hour delay, no am preschool, no am classes at Dishman Hills High School
Changes
- LaCrosse Schools, open on time, buses on snow routes only
- PRIDE Prep Spokane, fully remote learning
Many parts of the Inland Northwest picked up the most significant snow so far this season. The significant snow arrived along a warm front. The front will warm things enough that snow is now rain on Friday. The warmup comes from a push of southwesterly wind.
Wind gusts will be strong enough at times that a wind advisory is in place throughout the day for much of the Inland Northwest. Wind gusts will top out near 55 miles per hour for much of the region.
The big story is what is to come. As wind dies down Friday night, skies will clear and temperatures will drop. Even low elevation areas will drop into the 20s. That means every place that has slush and standing water will freeze heading into the weekend.