A chilly blast forecast for the region

Fall just fell last week, but Old Man Winter will be elbowing his way into the season this weekend.

A slow-moving low pressure system will settle into the region over the next two days, bringing stormy weather this morning, plummeting temperatures and even some early-season snow in the higher elevations.

The cold, wet storms should arrive as early as this morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Spokane. Weather events of this type in September have only occurred a few times since 1900, NWS meteorologists wrote in the Inland Northwest Weather Blog on Friday. The system will also bring strong winds and freezing temperatures to some areas.

A large portion of northern Idaho and eastern Washington will likely experience an early freeze, with low temperatures in the upper 20s and low 30s Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night, according to the weather service. Outdoor enthusiasts should be ready for as much as 6 inches of snow and cold temperatures in the mountains, with low wind chills and slick roads a possibility.

Those winds will hit the region this morning and remain into Sunday morning, with gusts of as much as 35-40 mph expected in some locations. The forecast high temperature in Lewiston today is 58, with a low of 41 and a 60 percent chance of rain. Sunday is even colder, with a high of 47, low of 38 and a 50 percent chance of rain.

Temperatures on the Palouse and Camas Prairie will be about 10 degrees colder, with rain turning to snow over the next couple of nights.

Conditions should warm slightly region-wide by midweek, but remain well below normal. The weather service is predicting highs of 59 Tuesday and 65 Wednesday in Lewiston; 49 Tuesday and 55 Wednesday in Grangeville; and 51 Tuesday and 56 Wednesday in Moscow.