More snow on the way for weekend

Forecasters promise that more is on the way through this weekend. About an inch of snow has fallen in Spokane this morning, and more may be on the way tonight as a second minor storm disturbance moves south out of Canada, according to the National Weather Service. North Idaho may see additional accumulations tonight, and mountain areas are also likely to get new snow. Lookout Pass on Interstate 90 is forecast to receive up to 2 inches of snow today and another 1 to 2 inches tonight. A more significant snow storm is predicted to arrive overnight on Saturday as milder air from the Pacific Ocean replaces the remnants of this week’s arctic cold. A storm system carrying moisture from the subtropical ocean region north of Hawaii will move inland this weekend, drawn northward by a low pressure area moving southeastward from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Temperatures will go from the middle 20s today to the lower 40s by Tuesday, helping wipe out the icy patches left over from last weekend’s snow storm. During the change, Spokane is forecast to get 4 to 7 inches of new snow by early Monday morning. Coeur d’Alene could see 5 to 10 inches by Monday with rain and freezing rain likely on Monday in both cities. The incoming storm will slowly scour out cold air in the lower atmosphere, and potentially bring the typical mix of sleet, rain and freezing rain overnight on Sunday into early Monday in Spokane and other locales to the west and south. Mountain areas and northern parts of the Idaho Panhandle will see all snow through the weekend. The milder air should penetrate into the lower elevations of North Idaho and Northeast Washington by Monday night. Sandpoint could see rain showers by then with high temperatures rising to the middle 30s on Monday and Tuesday. Lookout Pass could see 1 to 2 feet of snow through Monday. Other mountain areas, including the region’s ski resorts, could see similar amounts of snow through Monday with amounts expected to mainly be between 10 and 20 inches in the mountains. Snoqualmie Pass on I-90 in Washington should see several inches of snow before milder temperatures turn precipitation to rain on Sunday. The western slopes of the Cascades could see enough rain to trigger flooding of tributaries. Forecasters are calling for 3 to 7 inches of rain in the western Cascades. Ice jams have been a concern on streams across areas to the south of Spokane.