Tracking severe weather when
snow hits the inland northwest,
the up with Creme team is
spread out across the region
to keep you informed and safe.
Winter storm warning conditions.
The snow is coming down in sheets and
we have a live look across the inland
northwest and the latest on how long
this heavy snow is going to last.
The snow is continuing to pile
up on our roadways.
I'm giving you a live updates of road
conditions throughout the entire region.
Plus we're taking a look at traffic
cameras all throughout our area this
morning to keep you up to date on what
your morning commute will look like.
Up with crime begins now.
Well, good morning, everyone.
Welcome to this special edition of
up with Creme as we track severe
weather across the Inland Northwest.
I'm Tim pham. Well,
you could see right now we are on
Maple and Northwest Blvd right now and
snow is coming down hard at this hour.
But it's not just here in the Spokane area.
We're talking about all over the
inland northwest from Moses Lake.
To Coeur d'Alene far north to Deer Park,
really everywhere across the inland northwest
getting a lot of snow at this hour.
Our crews are standing by tracking it all.
But first here's a live look at
our certified most accurate radar.
You can see the snow really stationed
all over the inland northwest and
even central Washington and it's
not going anywhere anytime soon.
On up with Kremlin severe weather hit
we alert you before, during and after.
Right now we're in the during, so.
Our crews are spread out across the
region to get you the information
you need to know so you can prepare
for the day ahead.
We have Nicole Hernandez in the Creme
2 storm tracker taking a closer look
at what road conditions look like
right now so you know what to expect.
We have Channing Curtis closely watching
new school Closings and delays,
but we begin with meteorologist Thomas,
Patrick and Thomas.
You alerted us about this storm for days.
You've been watching this forecast
around the clock,
letting us know what is happening.
And now we're here.
So, Thomas,
tell us if this model is proving to
be what was in the forecast or if
it's changed at all. Good morning.
Yeah, good morning,
Tim. It has been spot on
over the last 24 hours.
If anything, the snow started a
little bit later than expected.
But basically right at 2:00 AM it started
and it came down as heavily as predicted,
about an inch of snow per hour.
Already getting reports north of four
inches of snow across Spokane County and
still snowing heavily in our region.
And into north Idaho.
Now, one observation I've made on
our Doppler radar is that it looks
like they're starting to lighten U,
especially in areas of central Washington.
That might be about the end,
but notice how in that last hour,
it doesn't advance any closer towards
Spokane County as the moisture
continues to develop and precipitate
as snow through areas like Davenport
to Reardon airway Heights and Spokane.
So not expecting that to let up
for several more hours.
Winter storm warnings.
Continue throughout the day today
and even into Thursday morning as at
minimum scattered snow showers are
possible into part of the day Thursday.
And of course visibility is another
major concern with the snow as intense
as it is 1/2 mile visibility out
of Deer Park and three quarter mile
visibility in Spokane simply because
of how intense that snowfall is.
As of this hour as you once again
take a live look over Riverfront Park
in downtown Spokane sitting at 29
degrees with heavy snow continuing.
And Tim, you and I,
when we both convened early on this morning,
you were saying that those conditions
were snowing starting at 2:00
o'clock in the morning.
And since then,
has it led up at all or has
it picked up since early on?
Yeah, Tomas, you know this.
I know this is kind of like
Christmas morning for you.
It's something that you've
been watching very closely.
So it was probably hard for you to sleep.
I know I peeked outside my
window around 1:45 this morning.
I was like, where's the snow?
It wasn't snowing in downtown Spokane,
and there was nothing on my truck.
But take a look at this car over here,
almost buried in the snow right now.
We're in the Northwest
Spokane area right now,
and there is a lot of snow around this car.
So come with me. This way.
We're going to take a measurement
over here by this stop sign.
So it's been.
Knowing in this area for
about four or five hours now,
you can see close to 5 inches.
Now keep in mind this is
not 5 inches of new snow.
There was already snow on the ground,
but nonetheless about 5 inches
of snow here on Northwest Blvd.
And take a look at the traffic behind me.
This area has not been plowed yet,
but there has been a lot of
traffic on Maple this morning,
which helps remove some of that snow.
So it is still kind of, you know,
this is a really powdery snow.
So if there's a word, I could.
Describe right now,
I guess it's kind of chunky on the
road until those plows can really
clear and remove some of that snow,
but it's not letting up right now.
So again,
if the messaging from the city is
that they will hit the arterials and
the emergency routes first before
they get to any residential areas,
so really you may not even be
able to get off of your street.
So if you can stay home.
And also with Spokane Public
schools closing the city,
saying that that will help
reduce some of the traffic on
the roadways this morning,
we haven't seen any major
crashes or incidents.
We have received some reports of downed
trees in the Browns edition area,
so a lot to talk about this morning.
But road conditions the number
one story when it comes to snow
because there are people that
need to get places this morning.
So Nicole Hernandez is in the Creme 2
storm tracker and the Creme 2 Storm
tracker goes really where people
can't go sometimes because it's a
has a lot of tools and resources.
So Nicole is taking a look
at conditions right now.
Nicole,
what are you seeing?
So Tim, we've been driving
around all morning.
We started heading up North Spokane
and made our way all the way out to
Coeur d'Alene now and take a look.
It's a lot of the same, just a lot of
snow on every single Rd we've been on.
We're on a pretty main road
here in Coeur d'Alene.
We're on northwest and it is covered in snow,
cannot see any lane lines and that
is just been the name of the game for
everywhere we've been this morning,
including I-90 earlier,
especially in the Spokane area,
you couldn't even see the lane line.
So take a look left, right.
Back forward everywhere you look here
on our cameras it is just a snow filled,
snow covered.
We are in a four wheel drive storm
tracker vehicle here and it is still
slipping and sliding as we're taking
turns as we're starting and stopping.
Taking a look to the right you
can see that snow also piling up
on some of the trees.
So be extra careful this morning
as you head out the door.
Early this morning we actually saw a
semi truck that was off to the side
of the road on division that had
gotten stuck from losing traction.
So that's something to look out
for this morning.
As we head into more snow coming down,
we definitely want to be careful of
lanes being blocked from cars having
problems giving cars extra time.
We've come up on cars that can't
gain traction back,
so they're going really slowly.
So just being very careful now
about where you're going and if
you can avoid the roads like to
mention that's probably going to
be your best bet this morning.
We're going to stick around
Corda Lane here for a while,
then we've got some people
asking you about airway heights,
so we'll head back to the Spokane
area to see what roads look like
in airway heights as we continue
throughout the rest of the morning.
In Spokane, Nicole Hernandez from 2 news.
The crime two storm tracker giving you
unique views you can't see anywhere else.
Nicole, thank you so much.
And yeah, definitely be careful
on the roads this morning.
So the roads are a big reason why
schools decide to delay or close.
They're scrolling there at the
bottom of your screen right now.
Again, new within the last couple of hours.
Spokane Public Schools announcing
they are closing schools today.
Nicole Channing Curtis hasn't
stopped keeping an eye on school
Closings and delays all morning long.
She's kept a close tab on.
The new school Closings and delays
that just came into our newsroom,
so chanting continues our team coverage.
Now. Channing, what are you seeing?
Yeah,
Tim, there are a lot of schools and
this is ever changing because this is
a very fluid situation and schools
have a lot to assess and address when
they decide to close or delay school.
So this morning we're tracking a large
number of these school districts,
some of them that have decided to close,
especially recently, Coeur,
d'alene public schools, Post Falls,
Spokane Public Schools,
Central Valley and East Valley.
All of these school districts are closed now.
There are also some schools that are
still that are going to delay today
that there are on a 2 hour delay.
Some of them include Omak Warden.
Colfax and Colville,
all of these school districts
are on a 2 hour delay right now.
Now also right now,
like Tim just mentioned,
all of those schools that have decided
to close or delay are scrolling
at the bottom of your screen and
they will continue to do so all
morning long here on up with CRIM.
Now we are getting minute by minute
updates from all of these different
school districts in our area.
So we will continue to keep you
updated here on up with cream as
well as our website cream.com.
Now of course as this winter storm
continues to sweep through our area,
you might be hearing a lot of weather terms.
That are being said especially
throughout our team coverage.
So as part of our commitment to
bring you more to every story,
we're breaking down some of the three
top terms that you'll be hearing
pretty much this whole season.
One of the big ones is winter
weather advisory.
So during a winter weather advisory,
you can expect some lighter snow,
a wintry precipitation like
freezing rain or even ice pellets,
but those could all cause
some slick road conditions.
Another term to keep in mind
is Winter Storm watch.
Now during a winter storm watch,
an incoming storm is expected.
So that means things like heavy snow,
ice,
and even a Blizzard are all
a real possibility.
So when you hear about a winter storm watch,
be sure to stick with us here
on up with Cramer,
any of our Creme 2 news broadcasts
and for the latest updates on the
forecast and on these winter weather
advisories or winter storm warnings.
And then there's that winter storm warning,
which I just mentioned.
So that means that's actually
where we are right now.
That means you can expect a
strong storm to impact the area.
That means you can expect heavy
snow and even significant ice,
the impacts of a winter storm warning.
Are typically much greater
than our other two.
So again that's what we're in right now.
So you definitely want to be
weather aware during these times.
So with this winter storm
that's hitting our area,
that brings us to our wake up call,
because hopefully a lot of you guys
are able to stay inside today and
enjoy the warmth of being indoors.
And in doing so, we hope you will
send us some winter storm photos.
Perhaps it's your backyard,
maybe your kiddos are out enjoying some
of the snow and getting their sleds out.
Text those photos to us at 509-448-2000
or post to social media and use the
hashtag up with cream and just be
sure to let us know what area that you
are actually sitting in these photos.
From we've gotten dozens and
dozens from viewers today.
Just taking a look at some of these,
of some of these photos.
We've gotten viewers from Omak.
We've gotten viewers from Okanagan,
from 9 mile from Deer Park.
So keep those photos coming. Again.
That number is 509-448-2000.
And here's the one thing you need
to know about today's weather.
The bulk of the snow is falling
right now and for this morning.
Those snow showers are expected all
day today and even into part of the
day Thursday as well as we continue
to track this major winter storm
hitting the inland Northwest right now.
Now before we head to break,
here is a live look outside.
We are showing you road conditions
all throughout the inland Northwest
all morning long and keeping you
up to date on this winter storm.
We do have complete team coverage all
morning long here on up with CRIM,
with Tim Fam and Nicole Hernandez
giving us live updates on these
conditions here on upward crim.
We'll be right back in less than 4 minutes.