New winter storm headed for Spokane

The National Weather Bureau has issued a winter storm watch for a new storm that could dump another 6 inches of snow on Spokane, with 8 more inches of snow possible for nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Sunday.

Weather bureau meteorologist Ellie Kelch in Spokane said the winter storm warning was issued at 3 a.m. Saturday.

Kelch said the Cascade Mountains in Washington state could see another couple of feet of snow Sunday, with another foot of snow possible for the mountains in north Idaho.

As of midnight Friday at the Spokane Airport, Kelch said the total snowfall for the season was 66.9 inches. That included 4 to 5 inches of snow that fell Friday in Spokane.

Kelch said the low temperature at the Spokane Airport Saturday morning was minus 8 degrees. Saturday's high temperature for Spokane was forecast at 20.

The city of Spokane Saturday announced that it was opening three shelters for expanded overnight use to help homeless get out of the cold.

Meanwhile, drivers were having trouble negotiating the layer of thick, heavy snow that left arterials once again choked or glazed and slow-going, although plows and deicer had gotten the busiest streets back in good condition by noon.

Earlier Saturday, the city of Spokane ordered all tractor-trailer trucks to chain up on city streets until 7 p.m.

Compact snow and ice was common on area roadways early in the day, and traffic was moving on Interstate 90 in some spots at about 35 mph.

Kelch sounded philosophical about Spokane's weather plight.

"If you live this far north, I guess you have to expect it," she said. "Yeah, I guess we have to be tough."

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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com

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