Grant and Adams counties saw a white Christmas for the first time since 2017, according to National Weather Service data, leaving some with fulfilled dreams and others dreaming of better road conditions.

The National Weather Service reported snow started falling around 4 p.m. and continued into the night, blanketing areas with about an inch.

According to climate.gov data, Grant and Adams counties have about a 48% chance of at least one inch of snow on Christmas. This year, the areas beat the odds.

The Friday snow caused two traffic collisions, Grant County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Rick Lagrave said. Saturday morning, with compacted snow and ice, there were five more. However, most of the weekend’s accidents were little more than sliding off the road, Lagrave said, so nothing major this time.

People go too fast for the conditions, he said, especially on the first snowfall of the season.

The National Weather Service issues storm warnings based on two criteria, Spokane-based forecaster Rocco Polatti said: intensity and impact. Because the snowfall wasn’t severe, and because it fell on Friday and Saturday of a holiday weekend when people wouldn’t be traveling as much, the NWS deemed it “manageable.”

Snow on Christmas isn’t the only pattern-breaker this year, Polatti said. While October saw higher than usual snowfall, December is about two inches shy.

“We had a lot more impactful snow in the fall than the winter, since the winter started, which is odd,” he said.

Sam Fletcher can be reached via email at [email protected].