Freezing rain, warmer temps on the way

MOSES LAKE — Anyone looking for relief from winter is going to have to wait a little while longer as Eastern Washington braces for yet another storm.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm is expected to arrive sometime Tuesday morning, likely after sunrise, and will bring rain or freezing rain to Grant County.

“Confidence is high for wintry precipitation but exact precipitation still carries moderate uncertainty,” said the Weather Service forecast. “This is an evolving complex system with additional changes highly possible.”

The Weather Service is expecting ice accumulations up to half-an-inch for most of Grant County north of Moses Lake. In whatever form it takes, precipitation is expected to fall sporadically through Wednesday evening.

“Significant ice accumulations will create treacherous travel conditions, tree damage, and power outages,” the Weather Service warning said.

While temperatures on Tuesday are expected to hover in the teens, warmer weather is expected beginning Wednesday, with highs expected in the upper-30s to mid-40s. However, freezing temperatures are expected to return by Friday.

The expected increase in temperatures on Wednesday, combined with the likelihood of rain, presents its own problems, however.

“City crews have been out preparing storm drains and runoff areas since last week in advance of this storm,” Ephrata City Administrator Wes Crago wrote in a news release.

Ephrata’s sand crews will be ready to sand the roads, Crago said, and the city’s emergency generator is ready to pump water from the city’s wells in the event the power goes out. However, Crago asked that people stock up on supplies and “plan for an extended period of time without electricity.”

“City crews will not be able to take care of every individual’s needs at the same time,” Crago wrote.

And in advice that applies far beyond the city limits of Ephrata, Crago asked home and business owners near storm drains to watch and make sure the gratings over storm drains become clogged. Minor flooding is a risk when rain combines with warmer temperatures and this much snow is on the ground.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com