UPDATED....Is a significant snow event possible for Spokane,Coeur d'Alene or the Palouse late tonight and tomorrow morning?

So as we talked about yesterday, an unusually tricky weather scenario looks like it will unfold over the Inland Northwest. So what are we fairly certain about? We are fairly confident that a slow moving upper-level low-pressure system will take up residence over the Inland Northwest and produce a band of moderate to locally heavy precipitation. The big questions to answer are where is this band going to set up and will it cool the atmosphere enough that we could see some significant snow. The setup producing the unusual event looks quite similar to what we discussed in our previous blog. We still expect to see strong lifting associated with a slow moving upper level low parked somewhere over eastern Washington. Notice the green shaded area (representing upper-level moisture) remains parked over eastern Washington and the central Idaho Panhandle through much of Tuesday.

500 mb pattern 2am Tue-5pm Tue

The lifting from the low will be accompanied by plenty of moisture and instability which should be perfect for producing a band of precipitation. Just how much precipitation are we talking about? A lot to say the least. The areas in purple represent totals between 0.50-1.00 inches of liquid and the reds and yellows equate to amounts between 1.00-1.50 inches. This is for the 12 hours between 2am through 2 pm Tuesday. Notice the band of heavy precipitation has eeked farther north than what we were looking at in yesterday's forecast and blog.

Latest 12 hr precipitation forecast 2am Tue-2 pm Tue

Previous 12 hr precipitation forecast for 2am Tue-2pm Tue

We still highly suspect that whatever verifies from a precipitation standpoint will more closely resemble the top two panes showing a heavy east-west oriented band vs the more poorly defined precipitation blob in the lower two panes.

Since the forecast is nearing in time we can also use one of our favorite tools called the HRRR (a rapidly updating model that runs hourly and can ingest current weather conditions). Let's see what the latest run of it says. The loop below is a simulation of what the radar is expected to look like. Green and yellow shading indicates where the heaviest precipitation is expected.

Radar simulation for Tuesday morning

So this also boosts our confidence that this event is going to occur. Each subsequent run of this model continues to show a similar radar formation (with small variations in location).

Now the largest problem remains is will the temperatures cool down enough to support snow. The models vary in this regard and there is a fine line as to whether or not snow can fall and then whether it will get heavy enough so it can accumulate on roads. The odds of rain changing to snow over the Inland Northwest look fairly good especially over Idaho and southern Spokane County and northern Whitman County. However a tougher question to answer is will the snow be able to accumulate on the area roads? If the snow gets heavy enough the answer is yes, however if not, most of the accumulations will occur on grassy surfaces. So once again lets look at the plume diagrams to see how much snow 27 different model runs produce over Spokane, Coeur d'Alene and Pullman.

Spokane plume diagram shows snow totals ranging from 0.0 - 2.5" with an average around 0.3" 

Coeur d'Alene plume diagram shows snow totals ranging from 0.0 - 5.3" with an average around 0.8" 

Pullman plume diagram shows snow totals ranging from 0.0 - 3.5" with an average around 0.5" 

Generally speaking, these values are on par with what the models were showing last night, however with the band moving further to the north, the snow totals in Pullman are trending lower. Motorists are still urged to check the latest forecast before venturing out in the morning and be prepared for a potentially snowy commute. Here is our latest snow forecast.

Snow forecast for Tuesday (issued 9 pm Monday )

1145pm Monday Update....the band of precipitation was beginning to take form. Our confidence is growing the moderate to locally heavy precipitation band will develop. Still not sure if heavy snow will accumulate.

1147pm radar imagery. Note heavier precipitation developing between  Davenport and Ritzville. 

Is a significant snow event possible for Spokane,Coeur d'Alene or the Palouse Tuesday morning?

Although the weather of late has been quite wet, the overwhelming majority of the precipitation has fallen as rain (or melting snow) in the valleys of eastern Washington and north Idaho including the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area and the Palouse. That might change however as an unusual weather pattern materialises on Tuesday morning resulting in the possibility of significant snow. So what is the weather pattern which might lead to this unusual snow? To get significant snow in the valleys this time of year you need several things. First, you want to have a fairly strong upper-level trigger. In this case, we will be dealing with a slow moving upper-level disturbance or vorticity maximum.

500 mb pattern 2 am-2 pm Tuesday

The emphasis is on slow. The loop above shows the disturbance quite nicely between 2am-2pm Tuesday. The green area represents where the forecast model is placing the best moisture. Notice the feature also looks like a semi-circle indicating a tight circulation in the upper atmosphere which should lead to increased upward motion.

Another ingredient we like to see to enhance this upward motion is deep instability. This helps enhance the upward vertical motion between the ground and the upper atmosphere. So will the atmosphere be unstable? You bet. The orange and red shading indicates where we expect to see the most instability (however it's unstable everywhere across the region.

Lapse Rates through the mid-atmosphere 2am Tue

So couple the presence of the instability and the upper-level disturbance and here is where one model solution suggests we will see the greatest lift. Areas in purple and light purple are where the models expect to see the greatest ascent and thus the best potential for precipitation.

Upward motion through the mid-atmosphere 2am Tuesday

Finally, you need an atmosphere which is cold enough to support snow. This is the least confident part of the forecast. Model solutions are suggesting that the temperatures before the precipitation arrives early Tuesday will be above freezing, but then they slowly fall as the precipitation intensifies during the morning at least over a very small area (denoted in light or dark blue).

8am Tuesday Temperatures

So we have the ingredients in place for a heavy precipitation event (albeit fairly localized). Now the question is where will this band of precipitation set up and will it become heavy enough that it can produce accumulating snows in the valleys. That is a tough question to answer since there has been considerable model variability. What we can gather is more often than not the model solutions have depicted a northwest-southeast or west-east oriented band of precipitation similar to the two panes in top portion of the image below. Some of these amounts are quite impressive. The areas in purple show precipitation amounts above 0.75 inches and the red areas are showing more than an inch. So is it possible that most of not all this will fall as snow? It is certainly a possibility. 

12hr precipitation amounts forecast between 2am-2pm Tuesday

So just how much snow are we talking about?  Well here is a plume diagram showing 27 different model possibilities or solutions for the Pullman/Moscow area. While some of the models are hinting at a little more than a trace of snow, the most impressive solution is showing nearly 8 inches! The average snow amount from all the variations is just over 1" of snow.  For the Spokane area, the forecast is nowhere close to as snowy as for Pullman. The maximum snow forecast is around 2.25" but the average is around a quarter inch. That's a lot of variation, to say the least. 

Plume Diagram for snow for Pullman (Click image for larger view)

Plume diagram for snow for Spokane (Click image for larger view)

So what do we expect to happen? We are fairly confident we will see a band of moderate to locally heavy precipitation develop on Tuesday morning. Again the question is where will this occur and will the atmosphere be cold enough to support heavy snow? The other variable is will the ground be cold enough allow accumulations to occur on the roads? If the snow gets heavy enough (quite possible) we suspect the answer will be yes. Motorists are urged to prepare for the possibility of winter driving conditions for the Tuesday morning commute. Chances are the afternoon commute will be much easier as any threat of accumulating snow diminishes. Hopefully, as the event nears our confidence will grow as to where we expect to see the greatest risk of significant snows.