Spring snowfall to turn to rain this afternoon

Those hoping for a balmy spring break in Spokane woke to late-season snowflakes Monday morning. Falling temperatures early Monday morning caused a rain/snow mix to turn to snow in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene around 7 a.m. A winter weather advisory has been issued by the National Weather Service through 11 a.m. Officials warn mountain pass conditions, particularly 4th of July and Lookout Pass on Interstate 90, could be hazardous throughout the day. Late season snow brought an inch of wet snow to Spokane International Airport this morning as much of the region was blanketed by a late-season snow storm, the National Weather Service says. The reading at the airport set a daily snowfall record for April 6 in Spokane. The previous record was 0.7 inches of snow in 1975. Forecaster Matt Fugazzi of the weather service said snowfall in early April is not unusual, and that early spring weather often is characterized by showers of hail or graupel, a type of compressed snow pellet. Graupel and hail are recorded as snow. Today’s precipitation was a wet garden variety snow that stuck to lawns and greenery, but melted on contact with pavement. Even Lookout Pass in North Idaho had bare, wet pavement this morning. The Washington State Patrol reported that only one accident - a slide off in Adams County - could be attributed to the snow storm. Spokane had seen 16.6 inches of snowfall this season heading into Monday, according to the National Weather Service. That’s 27.5 inches less than normal. Kootenai School District canceled classes today due to the weather. Spokane Public School students are on spring break, beginning today. Snow is expected to turn to rain showers later today as temperatures climb into the middle 40s in Spokane. Thunderstorms are possible, forecasters say. Daytime temperatures will rebound the rest of the week, with highs expected near 60 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and sunny skies.