Six inches of snow possible Wednesday could break branches, power lines

Wednesday could bring up to 6 inches of snow potentially followed by rain, leading to icy road conditions.

Meteorologists expected snow to start falling late Tuesday night, said Rebekah Cheatham, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane.

By Wednesday morning, Cheatham predicted about 2 inches of snow will have fallen, with another 2-4 inches falling throughout the day .

Higher-elevation areas in Spokane, such as the South Hill, will get more snow, Cheatham said.

Six inches could be enough to break power lines and branches, she said.

It looked like precipitation would fall as snow throughout the day, but a possible transition to rain could make for hazardous driving by the evening commute, Cheatham said.

“It’s going to be tricky anyway once the snow on the road gets compacted, if plows don’t get to it in time,” Cheatham said. “If there’s rain cold enough to freeze onto the snow, it could definitely make it more icy.”

Thursday and Friday could bring a break from the snowfall, with possible snow and rain mixed Friday night. Saturday night and Sunday morning are more likely to bring precipitation, though, Cheatham said.

“These things are never exact because there’s so many things that influence it,” Cheatham said.

Temperatures should hover in the mid-30s through the week, climbing closer to 40 before dipping back down before the start of next week.