Temperatures drop below zero in Spokane, slowing morning commute

Spokane awoke Wednesday to temperatures below zero as arctic cold settled across the region.

The Spokane International Airport recorded 4 degrees below zero before climbing back above zero, the National Weather Service reported. Parts of the Okanogan Valley reached 17 degrees below zero. The temperature in Winthrop sank to 22 degrees below zero.

The area’s extreme frigid temperatures were expected to last through Thursday.

Lows between 10 below and 15 below were expected in the region between midnight and 10 a.m. Thursday, National Weather Service meteorologist Steven Van Horn said. Northeast Washington would see the coldest temperatures with lows of 20 below zero, he said.

“The more significant story is the wind chills,” Van Horn said Wednesday. “In the Spokane area, we’re looking at 20 below to 35 below zero. The coldest wind chills will be on the West Plains because they’ll be a bit more exposed to the wind.”

Winds could freeze the region by an additional 10-15 degrees, the weather service said.

With the cold and Tuesday’s snowfall, multiple vehicle collisions closed lanes along Interstate 90 Wednesday morning, with long delays near the westbound exit to Lincoln Street. There also were delays due to collisions near the eastbound Hamilton Street exit, among others.

“This morning, we have seen a significant portion of collisions on 90 and all areas around the Inland Northwest,” Ryan Overton, a state Department of Transportation spokesman, said Wednesday. “I think people … assume they can go 60 mph, but that’s not really the case right now.”

Light to moderate snow is expected Friday, followed by a likelihood of freezing rain across the state, Van Horn said. The National Weather Service anticipates a warming period going into next week, which could cause flooding due to ice and snow melting.

Department of Transportation trucks were laying down sand across icy stretches of the road because deicer would be ineffective in the extreme cold, Overton said. In these temperatures, the melted ice would simply refreeze, he said.

“We would actually create worse conditions if we put deicer down right now versus just putting down sand,” he said. “The sand will break down the ice as cars move across it.”

Overton urged travelers to plan for delays during the holiday weekend. More snow is expected across the Inland Northwest on Friday, and there’s the potential for freezing rain over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Weather this cold is rare. Spokane has only experienced 15 below three times in the last 30 years: in 1996, 2004 and 2008.

Frigid weather almost always causes or contributes to deaths, said Dr. Veena Singh, Spokane County medical examiner.

In 1996, six people died of hypothermia, Singh said. In 2004, one homeless person died and another died in an unheated home. In 2008, there were six hypothermia deaths.

But even in less extreme years, Spokane is prone to hypothermia deaths. Last year, three people died in unheated homes, two died in close proximity to their homes, one person died near their stuck vehicle, and two unhoused people died, for a total of eight cold weather deaths.

The medical examiner’s office is prepared for a potential surge in hypothermia deaths, Singh said, noting it may be a few weeks before it’s clear how many people died because those most vulnerable to weather-related deaths are often living alone or unhoused.

There are many factors in each death, but often vulnerable people such as the elderly and those with cognitive or mobility impairment are at the highest risk, Singh said. In frigid temperatures like Spokane is experiencing, Singh said, it’s important to check on people in your community.