ARCTIC FRONT CAUSES WIND, SNOW IN MOSES LAKE
Snow collects on Sinkiuse Square in Moses Lake. The area experienced brief snowfall on Wednesday afternoon due to a strong arctic front from Canada coming to the region.
MOSES LAKE - A strong Canadian arctic front caused the Moses Lake area to have strong wind gusts and brief snowfall early Wednesday afternoon.
Meteorologists are predicting colder-than-normal temperatures and light snowfall in the next few days.
"There's a rather strong arctic front moving down from Canada in the next couple of days. Before it arrives, there will be snowfall throughout," said Jonathan Fox, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
He said once the northern cold air mass moves into the Moses Lake area in the next couple of days, snowfall will dwindle but temperatures are expected to reach record lows.
Fox predicted sporadic snowfall until Friday.
"But then the arctic front moves in, and there will likely be record temperatures when it does," he said.
Fox predicted temperatures to be around 20 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday.
Temperatures around the area during this time are typically around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, he said.
The strong arctic front is an unusual occurrence this time of year, according to Fox.
"We typically get arctic fronts around November, December and January and early February. To get an arctic front this strong this late is very unusual," he said.
Once the arctic front moves through the area, Fox said, there will most likely be rain due to moisture moving in from the Pacific region.
"(The pacific moisture) is more normal for this time of year. It will get warmer once that moisture hits but until that happens, there's going to be a snow and rain mix," he said.