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Temperature differences mean little snow in Moses Lake, more in Quincy

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 2 months AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | January 28, 2021 1:00 AM

MOSES LAKE — While snow fell throughout central Washington Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, not much of it landed in Moses Lake.

It was a different situation in Quincy, however.

Laurie Nisbet, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane, said Wednesday Moses Lake received about one inch of snow through mid-morning. Temperatures in the region south of Interstate 90 were warm enough that most precipitation, when it fell as snow, didn’t stick, and what did stick melted quickly, she said.

“North of I-90 temperatures are at or below freezing and they are seeing more snow,” Nisbet said.

Quincy had three inches of snow as of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, and it didn’t stop there. The NWS observer in the Quincy area reported about five inches of snow by mid-morning.

“She even shared a picture with a ruler (measuring the snow depth) so it’s legit,” Nisbet said.

The snow was part of a very large weather system that brought snow and rain from northern California to Spokane. Another system should come through Grant County Thursday, Nisbet said, but most of the precipitation should be to the west, over the Cascades.

The next chance for snow in Grant County appears to be Sunday night into Monday.

“There’s going to be a round of potential snow for the region,” Nisbet said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].

photo

Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald

Moses Lake School District athletic custodian James Habedenk clears snow from the sidewalks around Lions Field. A late Tuesday snowstorm left about an inch of wet snow in Moses Lake, but up to five inches around Quincy and other areas to the north.

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