990
FXUS66 KOTX 121005
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
305 AM PDT Wed Jun 12 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
Temperatures today will be close to average with highs in the 70s
across most of the Inland Northwest. Thursday will be warm with
light winds. A cold front is expected to bring more breezy
conditions Friday and Saturday. The weekend and early next week
will be cool with the chance of showers and thunderstorms.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

Today and tonight: Thankfully, there will be less wind today. By
late this morning, the cold front that buffeted our region with
wind yesterday will be making its way through the Dakotas into
Minnesota. Much of the Inland Northwest will experience west or
southwest winds of 5 to 15 mph today with gusts up to 20 mph
across the West Plains, southwest mountain aspects, and through
the Cascade gaps late in the day. Afternoon temperatures will be
cooler than yesterday as well with highs ranging from the low 70s
in north Idaho to the upper 70s in central Washington and the L-C
Valley. Readings will be very close to average for early to mid
June. The atmosphere will be quite dry from top to bottom with
very few clouds and afternoon relative humidity between 15 and
25 percent. As high pressure builds over the Inland Northwest
tonight, light winds, clear skies, and low dewpoints will allow
temperatures to dip below average. Low temperatures in the 40s
will be common region-wide with mid to upper 30s in places like
Deer Park, Colville, Priest Lake, and Republic.

Thursday: Output from the National Blend of Models (NBM) predicts
that Thursday will be our warmest day between now and the first
day of summer (June 20th). A shortwave high pressure ridge will
migrate over the Pacific Northwest Thursday delivering a small
dose of the warmth that has been over California. Highs will reach
the upper 70s and 80s...an impressive warm up after morning lows
in the 40s. Residents of central and eastern Washington won`t know
what to do with a day without wind. It will be a truly depressing
day for kite fliers and wind turbine operators with winds of 5
mph or less.

Friday: Breezy southwest winds will return by Friday afternoon as
a weak, dry cold front arrives. With highs in the 70s and
afternoon relative humidity in the 15 to 25 percent range,
grass/brush fires will be a concern again. Humidity levels Friday
will be comparable to our active wildfire day on Tuesday, but
temperatures from the NBM are 5 to 10 degrees cooler than
Tuesday`s highs. Winds won`t be as strong either. Fortunately,
neither the GFS MOS or the ECMWF ensemble members produce as much
wind Friday as we had on Tuesday. Sustained winds of 10 to 20 mph
with gusts of 25 to 35 mph are advertised by the aforementioned
guidance with the highest gusts over the West Plains, Wateville
Plateau, and US-2 corridor in the Upper Columbia Basin. /GKoch

Saturday through Tuesday: Expect a pattern shift over the weekend
into early next week as low pressure drops down from British
Columbia. Gusty winds are expected Saturday, with cooler temps and
chances for showers also arriving this weekend. Wind speeds of 15-30
mph, with gusts of 30 to 40 mph are currently forecast for Saturday,
especially across the Cascade gaps into the Waterville Plateau and
Columbia Basin. This could certainly lead to some elevated fire
weather concerns, though the cooler temps should keep RH values from
getting too terribly low. The best chances for precip look to be
across the Cascades, northern WA mountains, and northern Idaho from
late Saturday into early next week. After our period of above normal
temps, daytime readings are forecast to drop below normal for
Saturday through at least Monday. Some patchy frost possible Sunday
morning across areas that are typically susceptable. /KD

&&

.AVIATION...
06Z TAFS: VFR conditions will prevail. Winds will continue to
decrease through 08Z, with lighter winds for Wednesday.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
in VFR conditions.

-----------------------

Confidence descriptors:
Low - Less than a 30 percent chance
Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance
High - Greater than a 70 percent chance

For additional probabilistic information for NWS Spokane airports,
please refer to the Aviation Dashboard on our webpage:
https:/www.weather.gov/otx/avndashboard

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Spokane        73  45  80  54  74  49 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Coeur d`Alene  71  45  79  52  73  48 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Pullman        69  43  77  51  69  47 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Lewiston       79  50  87  58  80  53 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Colville       74  38  79  45  75  43 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Sandpoint      71  43  76  48  71  46 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Kellogg        68  48  77  56  69  49 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Moses Lake     79  45  84  52  77  49 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      77  50  81  54  73  49 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Omak           79  47  82  51  79  49 /   0   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...None.
WA...None.
&&

$$