Heavy snow headed for Eastern Washington, North Idaho

If you thought the worst of winter was over, you were wrong.

The National Weather Service is calling for up to 8 inches of snow by Monday night in the Spokane area and even more in the mountains and the northern areas of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Winter weather advisories have been issued for the region until 3 p.m. Monday.

The snow is expected to begin overnight into Sunday, with accumulations of 2 to 4 inches Sunday and another 2 to 4 inches on Monday. There may be a brief lull in the snowfall Sunday evening. The mountains could see a total of 6 to 11 inches this weekend.

The heaviest snowfall is expected in the Washington Palouse and North Idaho, which includes Moscow, Pullman, Kellogg, Tekoa, Oakesdale and Wallace. The forecast calls for 6 to 14 inches of new snow through Tuesday evening. The winter weather advisory in those areas doesn’t expire until 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The snow is expected to stick around. Both the high and low temperatures will stay below freezing at least through Wednesday, when the high is expected to be 35.

About a half inch of snow fell at Spokane International Airport in the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Since Feb. 1, 16 1/2 inches of snow has fallen, about 10 inches above normal. The record for February snowfall in Spokane is 37.8 inches.