


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Spokane, WA
Issued by NWS Spokane, WA
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760 FXUS66 KOTX 150923 AFDOTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 223 AM PDT Tue Jul 15 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Remaining breezy today with northeast winds. Strongest winds be down the Okanogan Valley, Purcell Trench, and over the Columbia Basin. Not as windy as Monday. - Cooler today then warming back above normal through the end of the work week. Very warm with moderate HeatRisk expanding Thursday into Friday. && .SYNOPSIS... Today will be cooler with breezy northeast winds. Then temperatures warm back above normal at the end of the work week. Occasional shower and thunderstorms chances near the Canadian border and periodic breezy conditions into the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Today and Tonight: Temperatures will be 10 to 15 degrees cooler than on Monday with blustery winds out of the northeast continuing through much of the day due to the development of a thermal trough west of the Cascades and comparatively high surface pressure over our region northeast of the Cascades. Winds will be strongest down the Purcell Trench with gusts of up to 40 mph expected at times through early Tuesday. High resolution model guidance such as the UW-WRF suggest winds of this magnitude across Pend Oreille County as well, especially along ridges. The Wind Advisory will continue through 11 AM this morning for these areas. The wind advisory for the Okanogan Highlands has been cancelled as winds look breezy not strong enough to result in impacts such as tree damage nor power outages. While Tuesday`s winds are not expected to be nearly as strong as Monday`s, gusts in the 25 to 30 mph range down the Okanogan Valley and across the Columbia Basin will still be a concern for fires with afternoon humidity levels dropping to around 20 percent. Wednesday through Friday: Temperatures will warm back up through the end of the week, returning to the 90s for most locations by Friday. Periodic breezy conditions and occasional shower and thunderstorm chances along the Canadian border are anticipated. Winds will remain out of the north/northeast through early Wednesday, then will shift out of the south Wednesday evening ahead of the next shortwave moving in. As the shortwave tracks through Thursday afternoon, isolated showers and thunderstorms will be possible in far northeast WA and North ID. In addition to shower and thunderstorm chances, the Okanogan Valley can expect another round of breezy northerly winds, though much more tame than what they experienced Monday. Generally sustained speeds will be 10 to 20 mph with gusts 20 to 30 mph. For southeastern WA and the Central ID Panhandle, winds will remain westerly. Saturday and Sunday: Models point toward a broader trough moving into the region over the weekend cooling temperatures into the 80s and bringing additional shower and thunderstorm chances along the Canadian border. Winds look to pick up out of the west Saturday, so that will be something to monitor for fire weather concerns over the coming days. /Fewkes && .AVIATION... 06Z TAFS: North to northeast winds will remain gusty overnight and into Tuesday morning for most of the region. Convection will dwindle over northeast WA and North ID through the night but could bring gusty and erratic winds to the area for the next couple of hours as well as infrequent cloud to ground lightning and brief heavy rain. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence that VFR conditions will continue at all TAF sites. Low confidence on how smoke/haze will impact smaller airports from Omak (KOMK) to Colville (KCQV) to Sandpoint (KSZT) early Tuesday morning as smoke could be trapped in the morning inversions. && .Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs... Spokane 78 53 86 58 92 60 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 Coeur d`Alene 75 52 86 57 90 59 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 Pullman 78 49 84 54 87 55 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 Lewiston 89 60 93 65 98 66 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 Colville 79 43 85 49 88 50 / 10 0 0 0 10 0 Sandpoint 71 47 82 52 86 54 / 30 0 0 0 10 0 Kellogg 70 52 83 60 86 61 / 30 0 0 0 0 0 Moses Lake 86 57 91 60 95 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 88 64 93 67 95 69 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Omak 89 57 92 61 94 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...Wind Advisory until 11 AM PDT this morning for Northeast Mountains. ID...Wind Advisory until 11 AM PDT this morning for Coeur d`Alene Area-Northern Panhandle. && $$