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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Snow-packed streets passable, but slick

An Avista employee works to clear a pathway on Thursday along the Post Falls North Dam at Falls Park. (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)
From staff reports

From staff reports

A day after 6 inches of snow caused major traffic headaches throughout the Inland Northwest, roads remained slick.

Eastbound traffic on Interstate 90 barely crawled through Spokane as of 8 a.m. Thursday, according to Spokane Regional Traffic Management Center cameras.

A jackknifed semitruck on eastbound I-90 at Freya Street spilled diesel, and an environmental cleanup crew was en route to the scene, according to the Washington State Patrol. One lane was open, and WSP estimated the freeway to fully reopen later in the morning.

Eastbound I-90 lanes were blocked near the U.S. Highway 2 interchange on Sunset Hill in Spokane, causing delays for a few hours before clearing at about 10:30 a.m., according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

A garbage truck was hooked up to a tow truck while crews worked to fix the barrier that separates east and westbound travel at about 9:40 a.m. The truck appeared to break through the barrier during the crash.

Plastic pink flamingos brave the old and snow in a front yard near the corner of Boone Avenue and Sherwood Street, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Spokane. Heavy snow blanketed the area on Wednesday. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Plastic pink flamingos brave the old and snow in a front yard near the corner of Boone Avenue and Sherwood Street, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, in Spokane. Heavy snow blanketed the area on Wednesday. (DAN PELLE/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)

Schools remained mostly open on Thursday. Liberty School District and Pride Prep announced two-hour delays.

City of Spokane plows have begun to plow residential streets as part of an all-city plow declared on Wednesday. The city’s online tracker showed crews in multiple neighborhoods in north and south Spokane. Clearing all city streets is expected to take about three days.

Another 1½ inches of snow is forecast to hit the Spokane area starting at about midnight, said Valerie Thaler, meteorologist at the National Weather Service on the West Plains.

That snow could turn to freezing rain late Friday morning into early Friday afternoon. Thaler said the snow should mitigate most of the impacts of the light freezing rain, but slick roads and sidewalks are possible.

Precipitation is expected to continue this weekend and early next week, including mostly rain late Saturday into Sunday as temperatures warm up.