Snow way, there’s a blizzard in town

The white wonderland decided to come a bit early this year. The white stuff falling from the sky is the last thing I expected to see when I woke up this morning.  White snow on the green leaves is a strange sight indeed. 

White snow on green leaves was not expected by many this early. Photo by Anika Mechikoff

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning early this morning for Schweitzer Mountain Road and locations above 3000 feet. It is in effect until 5 p.m. Sunday.  A wind advisory has also been issued for “most of the North Idaho Panhandle” and is in effect until noon tomorrow. 

Snowflakes blanket yellow lilies. Photo by Anika Mechikoff

Those who have seen or can expect to see snow today include Athol, Spirit Lake, possibly Spokane, and the surrounding area, according to the weather radar provided by the National Weather Service. 

Kootenai Electric Cooperation’s Facebook page alerted members about the potential for power outages as the storm progresses.  KEC members can check for outages on the KEC outage map. 

In responce to the early snow, Silverwood Theme Park has closed for the last weekend of the parks normal operating hours due to safety concerns, according to a Facebook post released earlier this morning.  Many would-be guests, though disappointed, seem to have an understanding attitude.  They said that this is the first time they have had to close due to snow. 

Spokane almost hit the record of earliest snowfall this year as “the earliest snowfall on record is on September 23rd, in 1926” according to an article from KREM.

Stay warm this weekend and stay safe.