Dec. 6 – Spokane motorists should exercise caution when traveling this weekend, especially in the West Plains or north of Mead.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for Spokane County, but the most dangerous areas are not in the city of Spokane itself. Freezing rain is expected west and north of the city beginning mid to late morning Saturday and lasting most of the day.

According to the National Weather Service, the freezing rain will be most intense in Colbert to the north and on the drive to Davenport to the west. The freezing rain could turn to snow late Saturday evening, but it is not expected to snow more than half an inch next week.

Spokane itself will continue to experience low cloud cover and a freezing drizzle that has been present most of the week. Some parts of the city “could see a little bit of sun” Sunday afternoon, said NWS meteorologist Laurie Nisbet. But cloud cover and freezing drizzle will likely return throughout next week.

“Unfortunately, it’s that time of year,” she said.

The low cloud cover and freezing rain are caused by high pressure above the clouds, which pushes the clouds into the lowlands of the area. Because this cloud layer is so low in the sky, the rain falls from higher where it is warmer, but then freezes near the ground.

“Everything is trapped close to the surface and the pressure acts like a lid. Everything is so wet and all this stuff is just sloshing around in the lowlands,” Nisbet said.

Therefore, the higher you are, the less likely there will be freezing rain on Saturday.