Blowing snow could be on menu for the Palouse and Camas Prairie

Heavy, blowing snow across the Palouse and Camas Prairie is likely today with wind gusts from 20 mph to 30 mph, according to a National Weather Service forecaster.

Jeremy Wolf with the Spokane office of the weather service said during an online news briefing Tuesday that the snow predicted last night combined with winds in this area could make traveling difficult. It’s all part of a wintry mix of snow, rain and freezing rain expected through the end of the week.

On Thursday, there will likely be a morning break in the snow, but the next round of harsh weather arrives Thursday evening and into Friday. Forecasted snow amounts range from an accumulated 8 to 12 inches on the Palouse, 3 to 4 inches in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and 4 to 6 inches around Winchester and the Camas Prairie.

Wolf said this wintry mix is not isolated to eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Impacts are expected throughout the Pacific Northwest with snow in the higher elevations and freezing rain in the lower areas, such as Portland and the Columbia River gorge. Weather warnings and advisories have been issued for most of the region.

There are high chances of warmer-than-normal temperatures and wetter-than-normal conditions next week from Sunday through Thursday, Wolf said.

“Eventually we will mix out of this cold air and there’s a good chance of a melting period at lower elevations of snow,” he said. “So travel will remain a hazard in the weekend.”

Temperatures are expected to range from highs of 36 to 45 in the Lewiston area, and 30 to 40 in the Pullman-Moscow and Grangeville areas.

Julie Ann Olive, a weather observer in Dixie in southeastern Idaho County, reported Tuesday that the high temperature Tuesday was 28 with a low of minus 11 with 27 inches of snow.