Snowstorm closes schools in outlying areas; Spokane plows out in force

Snow continued to fall in North Idaho and the Palouse Monday night and Tuesday morning, causing school cancellations. In Spokane, plows rumbled down frozen streets clearing snow from the storm the day before.

School was canceled in Clarkston, with online-only learning in Pullman, Moses Lake, Dayton and Moscow, Idaho. The University of Idaho also closed its campus and canceled classes due to weather. Washington State University had not announced any closures as of 8 p.m. Tuesday; however, most of the university’s classes are held online due to the pandemic.

A Winter Weather Advisory remained in affect through 7 p.m. Tuesday for much of the Palouse, including Rosalia, Colfax, Moscow and Pullman. The Coeur d’Alene and Lewiston areas were forecast to receive accumulations from 2 to 4 inches.

Between midday Sunday and 10 p.m. on Monday, Spokane saw 4.5 inches of snow, said Jeff Cote, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Spokane.

“We will have the occasional snow shower going on today,” Cote said Tuesday. “The occasional burst of heavier snow, but accumulation will be pretty light.”

Spokane city plow crews still are working around the clock to clear streets. A full city plow takes approximately three days, according to the city’s website. The high temperature Tuesday was above freezing, with an overnight low of 23 degrees expected.

Tuesday brought another third of an inch of snow with predicted light flurries overnight into Wednesday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Turner.

Turner said Spokane would see a break from the snow Wednesday that would hold until Thursday evening, when Turner said another weather system would bring in another inch or 2 of snow in Spokane, and about 2 to 3 inches in Coeur d’Alene.

Turner said to expect highs in the mid- and upper-30s for the rest of the week.

S-R reporter Maggie Quinlan contributed to this article.