966
FXUS66 KOTX 240601
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
1101 PM PDT Sun Aug 23 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...
- Warming and drying trend Monday and Tuesday

- Minor to moderate heatrisk Tuesday and Wednesday with highs
  in the 90s.

- Breezy winds Wednesday into Thursday with elevated fire
  weather conditions.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Temperatures warm Monday into Tuesday with afternoon highs in
the 90s by Tuesday. The heat begins to break down Wednesday into
Thursday with an increasing risk for breezy winds and mountain
thunderstorms.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Today and Wednesday: A ridge will build into the region along
the Continental Divide while a trough digs in off the coast. A
similar pattern will be setting up from this past weekend. The
ridge will be in place for a couple of days leading to dry, warm
pattern. Highs will climb back into the 90s. Moderate HeatRisk
will return for most lowland locations on Tuesday and Wednesday.
As the trough begins to press into the region, a weak band of
instability will slide through the Lower Idaho Panhandle and
bring a less than 10% chance for showers and isolated
thunderstorm on Tuesday night.

Late Wednesday and Thursday: The trough begin to push into the
region on Wednesday and slowly track East. Ensembles have weak
instability over the Cascades, northern mountains, and the Idaho
Panhandle. Precipitable water amounts are 0.75-0.9 of an inch.
Winds will increase through the Okanogan Valley and Waterville
Plateau with gusts in the 20-30 mph range. Wednesday highs will
be in the 90s before dropping into the 80s on Thursday.

Friday through Sunday: The trough will struggle to displace the
ridge over Central US. Ensembles have the trough pattern
stalled over the region through the weekend. Drier air will
push into the region as precipitable water values drop to
around half an inch. While meaningful amount of rain is not
expected, the trough will drop highs back into the upper 70s
and 80s through the end of the week. /JDC

&&

.AVIATION...
06Z TAFs: Dry, stable condtions will bring VFR conditions for
the period. Winds will slowly shift toward the north and
northeast for KMWH, KGEG, KCOE, KPUW overnight. High clouds will
filter in from the south in the late morning to early
afternoon.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Main uncertainty
and potential for forecast updates will be smoke into KEAT
driving down visibility below 6SM. This comes with lower
confidence given the elevated winds in place.

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

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        53  86  55  95  59  92 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
Coeur d`Alene  53  86  55  95  60  93 /   0   0   0   0  10  10
Pullman        46  86  49  94  53  90 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
Lewiston       56  91  60  99  65  96 /   0   0   0   0  10  10
Colville       43  85  45  92  49  93 /   0   0   0   0  10  10
Sandpoint      46  82  50  91  55  92 /   0   0   0   0  10  20
Kellogg        51  84  53  92  57  92 /   0   0   0   0  10  20
Moses Lake     54  89  56  95  57  93 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      61  88  64  94  67  93 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Omak           53  87  58  94  61  94 /   0   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Air Quality Alert until 2 PM PDT Monday for Central Chelan
     County-Okanogan Highlands-Okanogan Valley-Upper Columbia
     Basin-Waterville Plateau-Wenatchee Area-Western Chelan
     County-Western Okanogan County.
ID...None.

&&

$$