Winter storm could hit Thursday

Do you want to build a snowman? You can this weekend!

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for the Coeur d’Alene area for Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon.

“We’re saying probably about 6 inches of snow here in town with just that one storm,” said local meteorologist Randy Mann. “But there are more storms coming in after that. We could see a foot of snow between Thursday by the end of the weekend.”

Mann said temperatures are expected to stay in the mid to high 20s, which is usually the temperature when storms produce big snows.

For winter sports enthusiasts, the mountains are expected to see a few feet of snow with the coming storms.

As winter sets in, driving conditions will be predictably poor.

“Friday morning’s commute is going to be really tough, so you want to be really, really careful,” Mann warned. “We have to just slow it down.”

More snow storms mixed with some rain are expected throughout all of December. Mann predicts the area could see up to 30 inches of snow before the new year.