Dangerous wind chill watch issued

The National Weather Service in Spokane is warning of dangerously cold wind chills as low as -25 degrees being a possibility over the several days, from Thursday evening through Sunday morning in the Upper Columbia Basin.

That area includes Grand Coulee, Coulee City, Wilbur, Creston, Odessa and Harrington.

The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

NWS says, "Confidence is increasing for very cold temperatures Friday into early next week with the arrival of an Arctic air mass." That will likely produce gusty north to northeast winds on Friday and Saturday, which will create dangerous wind chills as low as -20F or colder in some areas.

The local area will likely not see very much new snow, with any accumulations under an inch, they predict, but the larger region from the Cascades to North Idaho will see more light, fluffy snow that can drift across roads in windy conditions.