Weather forecasters are warning of unusually cold wind chill temperatures for the next three nights. The National Weather Service has issued a wind child advisory overnight for tonight through about 10 a.m. Wednesday. The area covers a broad range of the Inland Northwest, as far west as Omak and the Waterville Plateau and as far east as Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry.
Washington State University meteorologist Nic Loyd compares the current conditions to something you might encounter in flat areas that get a lot of wind, such as the Dakotas. State Highway 27, south of Spokane, has been closed off-and-on during the last couple of days due to low visibility and for snow removal. Several school districts delayed or cancelled classes Tuesday because of the problems getting children to school.
Loyd says the temperatures are a little colder than normal, and combined with the biting wind from the north, the conditions are inhospitable.
“I think tomorrow morning, for example, it looks like there’s going to be enough wind, maybe some clouds. It’s going to feel cold but the actual air temperature isn’t going to drop to its potential anyway," Loyd said. "But by Thursday morning it should be a little colder. It will depend on the specific area with all the microclimates, but should be around zero, something like that.”
By Saturday evening, Loyd says temperatures should warm as air from the southwest begins to displace the cold air now over the region. That will also bring the possibility of more snow or a snow-rain mix.