877
FXUS66 KOTX 060029
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
429 PM PST Wed Feb 5 2025

.SYNOPSIS...
Another round of snow showers is likely over parts of the region
tonight with generally lighter snow accumulations expected.
Temperatures will remain below average through the weekend into
next week. Widespread single digits to low teens will be possible
around the middle part of next week. Light snow will continue to
be possible at times over the weekend into next week, and
particularly over southeast Washington into the southern and
central Idaho Panhandle.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A quick update has been sent out to increase POP`s for the
Spokane/Coeur d`Alene area for this evening as radar trends show a
band of widespread snow moving up into the area. See previous
discussion below for more of the forecast details. JW

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAFS: Another weather disturbance moving in this evening will
bring a second round of snow to the region. The focus for this
snow is expected to be across northeast Washington and north Idaho
(northeast of a line from KPUW to KMWH) with IFR conditions
likely due to lowering ceilings and decreased visibility as snow
is falling. Increased instability with snow tonight may result in
brief bursts of heavier snow.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: There is moderate
confidence for IFR conditions for KGEG-KSFF-KCOE with snow after
this evening.

-----------------------

Confidence descriptors:
Low - Less than a 30 percent chance
Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance
High - Greater than a 70 percent chance

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /issued 302 PM PST Wed Feb 5 2025/

Wednesday afternoon through Thursday: A shortwave disturbance
tracking through the region combined with instability due to frigid
temperatures in the upper levels of the atmosphere will create a
prime environment for snow showers to develop this evening.
Intermittent snow showers have already been hovering over far
northeastern WA and the north and central ID panhandle through much
of the day, and radar is beginning to show new bands of snow
developing over the Waterville area, throughout the central Columbia
Basin, over Colfax and Rosalia, and over the Blue Mountains.

Snow is expected to reach the Spokane metro just before the evening
commute, which could result in reduced visibilities and difficult
driving conditions. With such an unstable post-frontal airmass in
place over the Inland Northwest, it won`t take much to trigger snow
showers. The convective, unstable nature of the snow makes it very
challenging to predict snow amounts for any given location. Snow
showers will generally be focused over the northern Columbia Basin
including Waterville, Coulee City, and Davenport, extreme eastern WA
including Deer Park, Spokane, and Rosalia, and over the northern and
central ID panhandle encompassing Sandpoint, Coeur d`Alene, Kellogg,
St. Maries, and Lookout Pass. However, between those locations,
amounts could vary greatly. Most of the aforementioned locations can
expect around a half an inch to an inch of snow, but isolated areas
of up to four or five inches can`t be ruled out if a particularly
heavy band of snow sets up and stalls for a few hours. High-res
models are suggesting spotty snow showers will linger through the
night into late Thursday morning.

With limited moisture in the atmosphere and temperatures continuing
to hover around 10 to 15 degrees below average, snow will be of the
light and fluffy variety, similar to what we saw last night. Expect
larger snowflakes due to the increased instability keeping dendrites
circulating aloft and aggregating for a longer period of time before
falling.

Snow showers should fizzle out by Thursday afternoon, and skies will
clear in the lee of the Cascades and over the northern valleys of WA
and ID. The combination of clear skies and fresh snow on the ground
will make for very cold temperatures Thursday night into Friday.
Expect single digits and maybe even a few readings below zero by
Friday morning in these east Cascade and northern valleys. /Fewkes

Friday: An exiting trough system will continue to light snow showers
across the region for the end of the week. Ensembles are in decent
agreement. The highest snow amounts are expected to be over
Southeast Washington and Lower Idaho Panhandle. These areas receive
another inch or two. Ensembles have increased the expected winds
from previous runs with speeds into the teens and low 20s. These
speeds could bring wind chills into the negatives Friday morning.
Highs will be in the 20s to low 30s. Overnight lows will be in the
upper single digits to low 20s.

Saturday through Tuesday: A ridge will be building along the coast,
another round of dry, arctic air will push into the region. Brief
periods of light snow showers are possible but impactful amounts are
not expected as moisture content is not very high. Highs will
continue to be in the 20s to low 30s. The drier air will allow for
the lower elevations to cool decently overnight. The lows will start
the weekend in the teens before dropping into the single digits by
the start of the next week. A breezy north wind is expected across
the region. It will bring another round of single to negative degree
wind chills to the region for the start of the week. /JDC

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane        18  30  15  31  17  31 / 100   0   0  10  10  30
Coeur d`Alene  19  31  15  30  15  31 / 100  30   0  10  10  40
Pullman        18  31  20  28  16  29 /  50  10  20  40  20  50
Lewiston       23  35  26  34  18  35 /  40  10  30  50  10  20
Colville       11  29   9  31   9  29 /  50   0   0   0  10  10
Sandpoint      16  28  14  30  16  30 /  80  20   0  10  10  50
Kellogg        22  30  18  30  19  30 /  90  30  10  30  20  70
Moses Lake     18  34  20  36  20  35 /  30   0   0   0   0  10
Wenatchee      14  28  16  33  18  31 /  30   0   0   0   0  10
Omak           10  24  12  29  13  29 /  10   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Winter Weather Advisory until 7 AM PST Thursday for Central
     Panhandle Mountains-Coeur d`Alene Area-Northern Panhandle.

WA...None.
&&

$$