Less snow but still cold in Washington state

SPOKANE, Wash. — Winter weather eased a bit throughout Washington state on Friday, a brief respite until a predicted weekend storm that could bring "wicked and dangerous" conditions to parts of the state.

Light snow continued to fall in Spokane on Friday, where residents were still digging out from a record storm that dropped 2 feet of snow on the city Wednesday and Thursday.

Schools, government agencies and many businesses remained closed throughout much of the state.

Skies were sunny Friday over much of the Puget Sound region, pummeled the day before by heavy snow. Still, police in Seattle and many other communities told motorists to stay home if possible because of icy streets.

The break was expected to be short-lived.

"Snow, snow, more snow, snow," said John Livingston of the National Weather Service, when asked what the future held for the Spokane area. An additional 4 to 6 inches of snow was predicted this weekend, along with frigid temperatures, with another snowstorm possible for Christmas Eve.

A winter storm watch was posted for most of the west side of the state and the Cascade Range, with the weather service warning of hazardous weather throughout Eastern Washington.

Snow and strong winds will blow into the Seattle area by Saturday night, with eastern King County in for sustained winds of 50 to 70 mph, with peak gusts of up to 90 mph, the weather service said.

"This is the calm between storms," said Andy Haner, a weather service meteorologist in Seattle. "It's going to be wicked and dangerous in the Cascade foothills, especially North Bend, Maple Valley, Black Diamond and Enunclaw."

"It's going to be major," Haner said. "It will be blowing down trees, knocking out people's power, causing major disruptions."

More snow and rain is forecast Sunday and into early next week.

In Spokane, a total of 23.6 inches of snow fell in the 36 hours that ended Thursday afternoon. That prompted widespread early closures Thursday, including entire shopping malls because employees and customers could not reach them. Most large retail businesses were planning to open Friday, although a drive through downtown Friday morning found many small businesses closed.

Many stores and malls in Western Washington, already hungry for shoppers because of the poor economy, likewise closed early Thursday because of bad weather and few customers.

The Lewis-Clark State College men's basketball team canceled its appearance in a tournament in Arcata, Calif., on Friday because flight delays at Spokane International Airport made it unlikely the team could get there on time.

Snowplow crews were working round-the-clock to remove snow from Spokane streets. The city hired 11 private contractors to augment its 10 road graders.

Downtown, city crews moved snow into the center of streets, creating impassable berms that motorists were urged to avoid.

"They will get stuck," the city warned in a press release.