After a lackluster snow performance in January, a winter blast to the tune of 3 to 5 inches of snow is expected Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, making for a "challenging" morning commute in the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene metro area, according to the National Weather Service Spokane.

"For the entire region, most of this accumulation will occur before the morning commute," said Greg Koch, meteorologist at the weather service.

The weather service issued a winter weather advisory until 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Localized snow amounts of 6 inches or more are forecasted in the Coeur d'Alene area and higher terrains of southern Kootenai County, according to Koch. Four to 8 inches of snow are anticipated across the Palouse, Camas Prairie and Shoshone County.

Wind gusts overnight in North Idaho could reach as high as 30 mph, which may contribute to drifting snow and possible isolated power outages, Koch said.

Koch recommended allowing an additional five or 10 minutes to get to work Wednesday morning. Arterials could be in good shape with crews working on them through the night, but side streets and untreated roads, especially in rural areas, could be a different story, he said.

"You can expect winter driving conditions, and we haven't seen a lot of that this winter," Koch said.

Light snow accumulations are forecasted Wednesday night, Koch said, and the rest of the week is expected to be mostly dry.

Temperatures through the work week will hover around 30 degrees with lows in the teens, except for Thursday night when a low of 11 is expected, according to the weather service.

The heavy snowfall comes on the heels of a calm January, when the Spokane International Airport received 6.3 inches of snow - about half of the 12.3-inch January average, Koch said.