National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Pacific Storm Moves Inland; Clipper System for the Northeast; Strong Storm Impacting Alaska

A Pacific system will bring low elevation rain and isolated thunderstorms to California tonight. Heavy snow is expected for the Sierra Nevada through late tomorrow. In the Northeast, snow may cause hazardous travel this evening into tomorrow. In Alaska, a powerful storm will bring dangerous seas, blizzard conditions, strong winds and bitterly cold across the state through mid-week. Read More >

During the morning of March 12, 2008, an optical phenomena was visible in the eastern sky from Spokane, a parhelion, more commonly known as a sundog. These typically (but not always) for near sunrise and sunset when the sun is low in the sky and the atmosphere is filled with ice crystals, typically from cirrus clouds. Unlike rainbows, which appear in the sky opposite the sun, sundogs appear to the left and right of the sun. The sun's rays are reflected or refracted as they pass through the ice crystals, forming the sundogs.

Sun dog
Right peripheral
Left peripheral