Chilly and dusty weather returns to the Basin
The buds on this ornamental tree may want to think twice about unfurling their petals - seasonal but chilly temperatures will return this week, although the Columbia Basin should be spared any snow.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIABASINHERALD
MOSES LAKE — The good news is the likelihood of snow in Tuesday’s forecast isn’t all that likely in the Columbia Basin. The bad news is that the warm, tantalizing, sunny, summerlike weather is gone and the dust and chilly temperatures will be sticking around for a few days.
Greg Koch, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Spokane, said the warm sunny weather was the outlier.
“It’s actually more unusual for Moses Lake to experience the low to mid-70s in mid-April,” he said.
Sunday night winds signaled the end of 70-degree weather, at least for now.
“After that we will be going through those temperature swings we typically see in April,” Koch said.
The daytime high for Monday still is expected to be 60-plus degrees in Moses Lake, but strong winds are forecast to keep blowing throughout the day. Wind gusts of up to 35 to 40 miles per hour are expected throughout the Columbia Basin, from Wenatchee and Ellensburg east to Ritzville. Blowing dust may cause problems for drivers near recently plowed fields.
There is snow in the forecast Monday night, but it’s most likely to fall in the northeast corner of Washington and northern Idaho. Oh yes, and possibly in the travel corridors over the Cascades.
The forecast for Snoqualmie Pass predicts a 70% chance of snow or rain Monday night into Tuesday morning, and 60% throughout the day Tuesday.
As of Friday afternoon, there’s an 85% chance of more than two inches of snow in and around Snoqualmie and a 65% chance of that much snow over Stevens Pass. It’s not likely to stick around, as ground and air temperatures have started warming up, Koch said.
The moisture shouldn’t make it as far as the Columbia Basin or Wenatchee, however. Mostly sunny skies are forecast for both locations.
Low temperatures in Moses Lake from Tuesday through Thursday are forecast to be close to but not quite freezing, bottoming out at 35 to 36 degrees. Tuesday should be the coolest day, with highs forecast for about 58 degrees.
Temperatures will start warming up — at least a little — by Thursday, with highs of about 65 degrees. The warm-up will continue on Friday, with the high forecast for about 69 degrees.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.