It's about to get cold

The blue skies and bright sun may be deceptive as residents on the Palouse were hit with cold arctic winds Thursday that are expected to last for the foreseeable future.

Bryce Williams, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, said for the past several weeks there has been a strong ridge of high air pressure that has been preventing cold winds out of Canada from moving in, but that ridge has finally started to break up.

Arctic blasts are common for the months of December and January, said Williams, but what is unusual is how cold they are this year. Williams said this December the temperature is about 10 degrees lower than average.

"The average temperature for Pullman this time of year is 35 degrees, but for the next couple of days the high will be in the low 20s," he said.

Over the last week, Williams said, southwestern winds swept across the Palouse bringing with them warm air that in turn brought rain - washing away what little snow the Palouse had. However, hopes for a white Christmas are not lost, Williams said. There is a 50 percent chance that the brisk air coming from the north will bring snow today, he said. Williams also said Saturday is expected to be the coldest day this week with a high of 23 degrees during the day and low of 11 degrees at night.

For those seeking a warm place out of the cold, Cmdr. Chris Tennant with the Pullman Police Department said their lobby is open 24/7.

Tennant said that although there have been some discussions about creating a designated warm sleeping space for Pullman's homeless population, the only city building equipped is the police department lobby. Tennant said anyone is welcome to sleep in the lobby as long as they behave themselves and don't prevent normal business from being conducted.

The lobby is not the most comfortable with its wood planked benches, "but it's warm," Tennant said.

So far this year no one has taken advantage of the open lobby, though, he said, explaining that the homeless population in Pullman typically opts for a warmer climate during the winter months, or they find a friend's couch to sleep on.

In the winter of 2016 the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse in Moscow opened its doors for those in need of a warm place to sleep, but this year the Rev. Elizabeth Stevens said they are still grappling with whether to do the same this year.

"We're still wrestling with it," she said

Stevens said last year finding volunteers to stay the night in the church was difficult and ultimately there were not many people who took advantage of the opportunity.

Alternatively, the church was looking to partner with Sojourners Alliance, but their recent fire has made that impossible.

Stevens said that until the church decides whether to open their doors, they will continue to provide motel vouchers for those in need of a warm place to stay.

"My heart is just torn about this, and I've been trying to figure something out," Stevens said, adding that if another ice storm and power outage hits this year, she won't hesitate to provide a place for people to come.

Katie Short can be reached at (208) 883-4633, or by email to kshort@dnews.com.