Fog to hang around until Thursday

SPOKANE — National Weather Service forecasters said fog has returned to the West Plains area and other parts of the Inland Northwest after a dense fog advisory was lifted late this morning in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene areas. Visibility was down to a quarter-mile or less in places. Forecasters also say roads could be slick from temperatures below freezing and a drizzle coming from the heavy cloud and fog layer. Fog problems are expected to persist until Thursday morning when a weak weather system arrives over the area with light amounts of snow, rain or freezing rain. This afternoon, forecasters expected fog to cause problems into this evening. Traffic cameras show that the fog is thick at the Geiger Boulevard exit on Interstate 90 and around Fairchild Air Force Base. The South Hill and Five Mile Prairie may also see thick fog. The fog could extend to Ritzville and Reardan. This morning, forecasters noted visibility issues in the following locations: U.S. Highway 2 from Reardan to Spokane and from north Spokane to Elk; U.S. Highway 395 through north Spokane to Deer Park; I-90 from Spokane to Coeur d’Alene.