Warmer weather should be on the way

Dec. 6—After a week of heavy snow, icy winds and slick roads around the region, the forecast for the next seven days is calling for slightly warmer temperatures and milder precipitation.

Joey Clevenger, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Spokane, said this week's weather pattern is a little uncertain.

"It's going to be kind of tricky down in that area," Clevenger said. "We are looking for warmer temperatures so it's going to be tricky on whether it's rain or snow that's going to be hitting you."

The Lewiston-Clarkston Valley got snow Sunday and Monday, though not a large amount. The likeliest days this week for more snow are Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, Clevenger said. But strong winds are not expected and because of the higher temperatures the precipitation may not add much depth to the snow already on the ground.

Last week, however, some areas racked up several inches of snow — 8 to 9 inches on the Camas Prairie; 7 inches in Moscow; and 2 inches near Ahsahka.

Clevenger said people can expect this weather system to last through most of the month.

"We're going to be in a cool, wet pattern for a little while," he said.

Meanwhile, in the outer reaches of the region, people are still digging out from last week's storm.

"We have a lot (of snow), for sure," said Olivia Hale, whose parents run Red River Hot Springs.

"I'm not sure of the exact measurements but there's still a lot," she added.

The hot springs, about 75 miles east of Grangeville, is a popular destination for winter recreationists. Hale said the visitor traffic hasn't picked up much yet, "but we usually get a lot of those who want to snowmobile."

The hot springs is open year round except for Christmas.

Julie Ann Olive, who records daily weather for the Dixie Community Group Facebook page, reported Monday that there are 21 inches of snow on the stake that measures the depth. The high Monday at Dixie was expected to be near 28 degrees with a total daytime snow accumulation of less than 1 inch.

At the other end of the region, Elk River city clerk Christina Bartlett, said the area "got dumped on last week" with more than 8 inches on the ground.

"Right now, it's lightly snowing," Bartlett said, "but this weekend it was very freezing. I've been here over 20 years and every year it's different."

Elk River also is a popular draw for snowmobilers and other winter recreationists. Bartlett said right now most of the visitors to town are hunters but after the holidays there will be several events, including snowmobile poker runs and an ice fishing derby.

Although Elk River is in a remote section of Clearwater County, Bartlett said the roads are kept well groomed in the winter because school children must travel to either Bovill or Deary for classes.

Drivers throughout the state are being urged to be especially careful when driving on snowy roads. Already the Idaho Transportation Department has had four of its snowplows crashed into because of drivers who attempted to pass on the right side of the lane.

"We're up to four strikes already when last winter season we had 11," said Megan Jahns, spokesperson for the department. "One of those collisions appears to have totaled the plow, which means we'll have less equipment to work on the roads in the Soda Springs area. Plows are heavy, expensive equipment that will be difficult to replace."

Jahns said drivers should generally avoid passing plows, especially on the right because many of them fail to see and avoid running into the smaller wing plow that extends off to the side.

"Historically, most of our strikes can be attributed to drivers trying to pass on the right," she said.

Jahns also advised travelers to download the 511.idaho.gov app so they can be informed about impacts on their routes and be better prepared to get to their destinations.

The Lapwai School District and Nez Perce Tribe were both closed Monday because of dangerous travel conditions. School in Orofino, Peck and Cavendish started two hours late because of road conditions.

Hedberg may be contacted at khedberg@lmtribune.com.