BELLINGHAM - One final burst of snowfall is expected to hit Whatcom County starting about noon Friday, Jan. 20.

Up to three inches could drop on the Bellingham area by the late afternoon, according to a winter weather advisory issued by the National Weather Service.

"We're expecting you guys to hold on to the cold air the longest," said Dennis D'Amico, a meteorologist with the NWS Seattle bureau.

But once the snow stops falling, that'll be it for a while, D'Amico said.

Road conditions were bad enough early Friday morning that every public school district in Whatcom County canceled classes for the fourth straight day.

Students at Western Washington University, Whatcom Community College and Bellingham Technical College were in class Friday, though Northwest Indian College canceled classes at its Lummi campus.

Rising temperatures didn't do much to help driving conditions, though, as several traffic accidents were reported Friday morning.

Cold weather and slick roads likely caused an older model Toyota Land Cruiser to lose control and slam into a Whatcom Transportation Authority bus, breaking the front windshield. No injuries were reported and the damaged bus was towed from the scene. Another bus was brought in to collect the passengers.

The afternoon snow is a change from the NWS forecast issued Thursday for Whatcom County.

The snow will be followed by a night of rain, which could be heavy at times. That may lead to some minor street flooding, but no major river flooding is expected, D'Amico said.

More rain is expected to fall throughout the rest of the weekend, with a 90 percent chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday, and showers likely Monday.

An avalanche warning likely be issued Friday afternoon at elevations above 4,000 feet, as heavy wet snow piles up on dry snow, D'Amico said.

Along with the rain, strong winds are forecast through the rest of next week. This weekend gusts of about 40 mph are expected in the northwest of the county.