Jan. 7—Snow berms were piled high and local schools closed as the Palouse received 5-8 inches of snow Thursday.

But a break may be on the way.

Charlotte Dewey, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said residents can expect milder temperatures today with rain and gusty winds. The gusts could reach as high as 50 miles per hour and may cause drifting snow on the roadway. Dewey said it is unlikely the precipitation will be freezing rain instead of more snow.

There should be a break in the precipitation when Saturday arrives. The National Weather Service forecast shows dry weather and daytime temperatures in the low 30s for Saturday and Sunday.

Dewey said she was not notified of any local snow records being broken as of Thursday afternoon.

As the snow created hazardous road conditions Thursday morning, school districts across Whitman and Latah counties closed down.

The University of Idaho and Washington State University closed campuses, and all Latah County government buildings shut their doors to the public, as well.

Pullman Police Cmndr. Jake Opgenorth said Thursday afternoon that these closures helped reduce the amount of traffic on the road and likely prevented accidents.

"Luckily, people stayed home," he said.

According to Opgenorth, Pullman Police saw fewer traffic accidents than expected during the daytime hours Thursday. There were reports of vehicles being stuck in the roadway, including a semi truck on Paradise Street near Rancho Viejo in Pullman.

In Moscow, a semi truck became stuck early Thursday afternoon as it turned right from Third Street onto Jefferson Street, blocking traffic at the intersection.

Snow plows worked long hours to clear the roadways. Pullman Public Works Director Shawn Kohtz said crew shifts expanded from eight hours to 12 to deal with the heavy snowfall. Drivers were clearing roadways as early as 3 a.m. Thursday.

"They're working their tails off," he said.

Kohtz said the snow plows focus first on the busiest roads, which are designated as "priority one routes." These include routes to emergency services like Pullman Regional Hospital.

When priority one routes are finished, the crews move to the less busy roadways. Kohtz said that during a heavy snowfall event, however, they have to keep circling the priority one routes as snow accumulates quickly.

When the snow stops, he said, they try to plow all the roadways in 72 hours. Snow plow routes can be found on the Pullman and Moscow's city websites.

According to Moscow's website, major streets and arterials are also plowed first, followed by the lesser traveled residential areas.

It generally takes approximately 36 hours for Moscow's snow removal equipment operating 24 hours a day to make one pass on all city streets.

Both cities encourage people to avoid parking on the street to allow more room for snow plows. Kohtz said that with so much snow to remove, plows sometimes have no option but to plow it into parking lanes on the side of streets.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.