Storm update, more snow next week?

There has been lots of talk lately about our big storm and the cold weather pattern.  But what about snow as we go into next week (Feb 10-16)?   We will look at this potential snowy pattern but first here is an update on the big winter storm.

The first part of this storm is the accumulating snow.  Here is our latest thinking (as of Friday evening) with additional snow amounts from Friday night into Sunday morning.  Note this does not include what fell Thursday night through Friday afternoon.

The big story Saturday will be continued moderate to heavy snow in Central WA especially around Wenatchee, along with blowing and drifting snow and localized blizzard conditions across the Columbia Basin, Okanogan Valley, Waterville Plateau, as well as around Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene.   Some roads will likely close around these areas.  Here is a graphic of forecast peak wind gusts on Saturday.

These winds will usher in arctic air into the region.  Here are the forecast wind chills for early Sunday morning.

And high temperatures will be very cold on Sunday.  Yes, these are highs!

So what lies ahead going into next week?  Computer models have been trending towards more snow.  In addition to the storm for tonight and Saturday, there are three more that we are keeping a close eye on.

18z GFS depiction of 500mb heights and 700-500mb Relative Humidity during four snow events February 9th-15th, 2019

All this snow will add up with the cold temperatures (besides settling of the snow).  The Sunday night storm models show the best chances for significant snow accumulations south of I-90.  Here is the GFS Ensemble plumes of snowfall going into next week for Spokane.

18z GEFS Snowfall plume for Spokane (GEG)

You can see pretty good agreement with the first storm of around 3 inches of new snow tonight into Saturday for Spokane.  Not much snow with the Sunday night system, but again areas further south have a better chance.  Uncertainty increases as to how much snow we get beginning Monday night.  Anywhere from 6 to 17 inches through February 16th with an average of around 11 inches.  This however utilizes a lower snow ratio (10:1) meant for wet snow and given the drier nature of the snow amounts could be higher given higher snow ratios expected.

Stay tuned to current forecasts as we go into next week as we fine tune snow accumulations with each storm.  And the cold will stick around for a while.  Here is the latest 8-14 temperature outlook issued by the Climate Prediction Center valid Feb 16th-22nd.

Climate Prediction Center 8-14 day temperature outlook issued February 8th valid February 16-22nd, 2019