First Snow of the Season

In most years, the first fall snow isn’t much to write home about. A dusting that melts an hour after sunrise. Of course last year we had a snowless October and then a couple of snows in November that hung around all winter. 

This year looks like something in between. Rain will change to snow Tuesday night and continue on Wednesday. A second round of precipitation on Thursday could bring a little more snow. 

This event is pretty tricky, for a few reasons. 

   Early season snowfall is always complicated by warm ground. 

   The snow may accumulate on grass but not pavement. 

   The timing is favorable (late night and morning), but when the rain changes to snow is critical. If it takes too long, we’ll get more rain than snow. 

As for amounts, it’s highly likely that we’ll see at least inch, but even that’s not guaranteed. Most likely we’ll see 2-3”. There’s actually a 10% chance of 6” or more. 

Here’s a few computer forecasts. As you can see, all of these forecasts have some areas with no snow. Some give more snow to Spokane than Deer Park or Colville.

The other noteworthy event is the colder temperatures. Gusty northeast winds will bring cold dry air from Canada. After the snow, daytime temperatures will be in the 30s with lows in the 20s and possibly teens. By next week temperatures should warm back into the 40s, so any snow we do receive may melt then.