SPOKANE, Wash. — November has been rainy. Through the first half of the month, nearly 2" of rain has fallen in Spokane. However, none of that has been snow... yet!
This weekend, a storm system will bring another wave of precipitation to the Inland Northwest which is our first chance, albeit a small chance, for low-elevation snow in Spokane and northern valleys in Washington and Idaho. The arrival of the storm looks similar to the rain event we just had on Wednesday, drawing from sub-tropical moisture from the southwest. This alone would make for an all-rain event, but some cooler air will arrive from the northwest which could be the missing ingredient for our first snow. It's not perfect so it's important to note that it's not a guarantee for snow... just a chance.
That best chance will be early Sunday morning when low temperatures are close to 32-35° which would be cold enough to support snowfall. The snowflakes will only stick to the grass and not the streets and roads, which will still be too warm to support snow accumulations. Should the snow fall, it'll melt fast. High temperatures during the day will be about 40-44° with plenty of rain.
Another limiting factor is that the weather pattern may still be in a ridging pattern, which tends to favor slightly warmer temperatures. That plus the southwesterly moisture feed would keep snow levels at 3,000' and above. So it's entirely possible that we won't see snow at all.
Valleys in northern Washington and North Idaho towards Colville, Newport, Sandpoint, and Republic will have between a 10-40% chance to get some wet snow sticking to the grass.
The mountains, however, will absolutely get heavy snow out of this event and likely the highest snow totals thus far this season. At the moment, Lookout Pass has a 70% chance to get a foot of snow and a 15% chance to get two feet of snow! Perfect for those looking for great skiing conditions for expected openings later in the month.
