Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Pocatello, ID
Issued by NWS Pocatello, ID
950 FXUS65 KPIH 300859 AFDPIH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 259 AM MDT Thu May 30 2024 .SHORT TERM...Today and Friday The area will remain on the western edge of an upper-level trough that swept through the region yesterday. The weather should be a bit more quiet today however as drier air filters into the region. The pressure gradient will relax today as well so winds won`t be nearly as high yesterday. They`ll remain a touch on the breezy side however (around 15 kts) in the Snake Plain and Magic Valley. Not expecting any precipitation the next few days with mostly clear skies but temperatures will remain on the cool side of average today. Daytime highs today will once again top out in the 50s (mountains) and 60s (valleys). Overnight lows tonight and into Fri AM will likely support the need for yet another frost advisory for some of the growing regions of eastern Idaho. For now, held off given the current frost advisory already out for this morning. Ridging will slowly begin to build over the region on Friday and temperatures will trend upwards accordingly. We`ll be closer to climatological norms Friday with 70s likely returning to the valleys for daytime highs. The upward temperature trend will continue into next week where summer looks like it`ll make its first appearance. More on that below. McKaughan .LONG TERM...Saturday through next Thursday. The better part of the weekend and early Monday will be warm, mostly dry, and breezy. A weak, transient ridge passing through on Saturday will give way to a weak shortwave on Sunday. Neither feature is strong enough to completely stop any moisture from reaching us nor strong enough to really bring in any significant moisture from the Pacific, so we`ll keep in some 20 to 30 percent chances for thundershowers on Saturday and Sunday, particularly in the Eastern Highlands. A low moving through southern Canada on Monday will bring a better chance for showers and storms, though we`re still talking about a 30 to 40 percent chance. Each afternoon will be breezy with gusts up to 20 to 30 mph on Saturday, 25 to 35 mph on Sunday, and 30 to 40 mph on Monday. Highs on Saturday will be in the 70s to mid 80s and then drop by about 5 degrees for Sunday. Highs on Monday pop back into the mid 70s to mid 80s. Slightly cooler air works its way into the area on Tuesday, so highs will be 60s and 70s, but it`s a short-lived cool down. Wednesday and Thursday will be dry days as our warm up gets going with highs eventually pushing to near 90 in the Snake Plain on Thursday and there`s a 60 percent chance of the eastern Magic Valley reaching the low 90s. For those of us who are more likely to hit 90 on Thursday, it`ll be about 5 to 10 days ahead of our average first 90-degree day in Burley and Pocatello. AMM && .AVIATION... VFR conditions to prevail through the period. Skies will be mostly clear today but winds will remain on the breezy side but not nearly as strong as what we saw on Wednesday. Nevertheless, expect winds around 15 kts at KIDA, KPIH and KBYI during the afternoon hours with gusts potentially around 25 knots. Winds should subside later this evening, into the overnight and remain light into Friday. McKaughan && .FIRE WEATHER... The forecast remains relatively quiet for today and tomorrow with warm, dry, and breezy weather ahead. Highs will be in the 50s and 60s today with wind gusts around 25 to 30 mph in the Magic Valley and Snake Plain. We`ll warm into the 60s and 70s for Friday with winds gusting around 20 to 25 mph. Min RHs will generally be in the upper teens and 20s both days. We will continue the warm and breezy trend through the weekend and into next week, though low PoPs return to the forecast this weekend (think a 20 to 30 percent chance) with about a 30 to 40 percent chance for thunderstorms on Monday. The heat really kicks in for the second half of next week as highs make a run at the 90 degree mark next Thursday. AMM && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Frost Advisory until 9 AM MDT this morning for IDZ051>053. && $$