An inch of snow blanketed large portions of north central Idaho and eastern Washington on Sunday, creating slippery road conditions that caused minor vehicle accidents.
A Latah County emergency dispatcher estimated there had been as many as four slide-offs in his jurisdiction with most of them happening along U.S. Highway 95.
No one was hurt, he said, and, in most cases, drivers were able to continue traveling after their vehicles were pulled back onto the road.
A dispatcher for Whitcom, which covers Asotin and Whitman counties as well as other jurisdictions, said he and his colleagues had reports of about half a dozen non-injury, weather-related accidents.
While the storm created hassles for motorists, it was a sign that a potentially troubling weather pattern has broken, said Rocco Pelatti a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane.
“There’s been a pretty persistent drought in the West,” he said.
This year was unusual because the first snowfall arrived early, he said, with Lewiston getting a trace on Oct. 23 and 2.6 inches on Nov. 8.
Then a high pressure system began lingering over the Northwest, creating sunny, dry weather, which can be pleasant for outdoor activities, he said.
Typically such systems might limit the amount of rain or snow that would accumulate from a storm.
But this one was so intense that until it broke, it was blocking any moisture from reaching the area at all and left many areas, including Lewiston, a little behind on where they should be for snow fall, Pelatti said.
“We don’t see a blocking pattern coming back in the near future,” he said.
Sunday’s storm wasn’t that intense, but it covered a wide area reaching Wenatchee, McCall, Bonners Ferry and Lookout Pass along the Idaho/Montana border, Pelatti said.
More precipitation should be on the way. Lewiston is forecast to get rain on Tuesday and Thursday, while places at higher elevations, such as Pullman, are predicted to get snow those days.
“It’s good news for the mountain snowpack, which is good for water,” Pelatti said. “You want to bank as much snow as you can up there because that’s what makes it into the rivers.”
Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.
