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Light snow Tuesday night could make for slick Wednesday commute

Drivers headed over mountain passes, such as Stevens and Lookout, should also be prepared for winter conditions Wednesday through Friday.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Light snow will move through Eastern Washington and North Idaho Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.  Though amounts will generally be an inch or less, the timing of the snow could make for some slick roads during Wednesday morning's commute.

Credit: KREM Weather
Snowfall Estimates through Wednesday morning

Drivers headed over mountain passes, such as Stevens and Lookout, should prepare for moderate to heavy snowfall from Wednesday night into Thursday. 

Snoqualmie Pass will likely not see accumulating snow until Thursday night into Friday.

The National Weather Service says the Inland Northwest could expect areas of precipitation through Saturday, with the most wet weather happening Wednesday night into Thursday. This will likely fall as a rain/snow mix in the valleys and snow in the mountains above 3000 ft.

Significant snowfall is possible over the Cascades from Wednesday night into Thursday, NWS says. Scattered snow showers are possible in the Cascade Crest, Idaho Panhandle and portion of southeast Washington from Friday to Saturday.

After the light snowfall Tuesday night, much milder air moves into the Inland Northwest and high temperatures will warm well above freezing on Wednesday afternoon.  Widespread highs in the 40s will be seen on Thursday.

Drier and cooler weather is expected to arrive by Sunday. 

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Rain and snow totals are currently below average for December. Spokane has seen .34 inches of rain so far, which is well below the normal total of .67 inches.

The area has also seen only .1 inch of snow so far, compared to the average of 3.3 inches by this time in December.

Mountain snowpack is also half or less than usual, according to the National Weather Service.

Large parts of North Idaho have 50% or less of the usual snowpack the mountains are likely to have at this time of year, compared to the 30-year average.

RELATED: Inland Northwest mountains have 'half or less' of the usual snowpack

A large swath of western and central Washington currently also has 50% or less of the usual snow pack. Some have even less, with 0 to 25% of the usual snowpack.

Although the snowpack is similar to this time last year, there are more areas with 0% of the usual snowpack this year than there were in 2018.

RELATED: How are snowy and icy roads treated in the Inland Northwest?

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