The National Weather Service, Spokane, has issued a winter storm watch for North Idaho, which will go into effect Monday morning after a current winter weather advisory now in effect expires at 4 a.m. Sunday. The watch, in effect from Monday through Wednesday morning, calls for up to a foot of valley snow and winds gusting to 50 miles-per-hour Tuesday afternoon.
In addition to heavy snow, meteorologists predict high winds, with gusts to 50 miles possible, making for dangerous driving conditions, especially at higher elevations, with blowing and drifting snow severely limiting visibility. In addition to hazardous driving conditions, the combination of snow and wind is likely to down limbs, trees and power lines, potentially blocking roads, causing property damage and power outages.
Travel could be very difficult to impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the Monday evening commutes.