Spokane drivers should use caution this weekend, particularly on the West Plains and north of Mead.
Spokane County has a winter weather advisory, however, the most dangerous locations are not in the city itself. Freezing rain is expected to begin in the mid-to-late morning on Saturday west and north of the city and last throughout the day.
According to the National Weather Service, the freezing rain will be most severe near Colbert to the north and on the route to Davenport to the west. The freezing rain may transition to snow late Saturday evening, but it is not expected to fall more than a half-inch in the following week.
Spokane will continue to see low cloud cover and freezing drizzle, as it has most of this week. NWS meteorologist Laurie Nisbet stated that certain portions of the city “might see a little bit of sun” on Sunday afternoon. However, cloud cover and cold drizzle are set to persist for the remainder of next week.
“Unfortunately, it is just that time of year,” she told me.
The low cloud cover and freezing rain are generated by a high level of pressure above the clouds, which forces them into the area’s lowlands. Because this layer of clouds is so low in the sky, rain falls from higher up, where it is warmer, before freezing near the ground.
“Everything is trapped near the surface, with the pressure acting as a lid. Everything is so damp, and everything is just swirling around in the lowlands,” Nisbet explained.
That is why, the higher you are, the less likely you are to have freezing rain on Saturday.