The smell of turkey and stuffing is in the air, and that means the ski and snowboard season is nearly upon us.  Interested in hitting the slopes this holiday weekend?  It’s still a little touch and go.  At least one local resort will DEFINITELY be open this weekend; others are just waiting to see how much snow falls over the next 48 hours.  Here’s the latest, as of Wednesday afternoon:

SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN RESORT:  OPENS SATURDAY, NOV.  24th.  Schweitzer’s website says “The current plan is to run Musical Chairs and the Basin Express lifts from 9am-3:30pm.  Lift tickets will be $40.  Sunday-Friday Season Passes will be valid on Saturday.  There will be some features set up in the Terrain Garden.  Busing and Parking will be free this weekend.  The shuttle will run on the mid-week schedule.“

High winds were recorded in parts of the Inland Northwest on Wednesday evening due to a northern cold front. There was a high impact to regions with south oriented ridges and valleys according to the National Weather Service.

NWS meteorologist Paul Bos says last night’s weather was a classic pattern of winds.

“The real kicker it looks like - we had quite a bit of terrain channeling,” Bos said. “We we cool off at night, we set up inversions - all those winds go through narrow areas. There’s not a lot of room through there and they’re going to accelerate.”

A wind advisory was issued just after 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday saying winds were expected around Bonners Ferry Sandpoint, advising drivers of gusty winds. 

High impact areas included Bonners Ferry who recorded the highest gusts of 51 mph and Coeur d’Alene Airport at 44 mph. Winds at Spokane International Airport were recorded at 38 mph. 

Power outages were also reported throughout the region, knocking out the power for over a 1,000 homes in Chewelah, Wash. and more than 600 homes in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Avista restored power for the majority of those residents overnight.