016
FXUS66 KOTX 171157
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
457 AM PDT Thu Jul 17 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Gradual warming through Friday with high temperatures reaching
  above normal readings in the upper 80s and 90s.

- Dry conditions and gusty winds may result in critical fire
  weather conditions for portions of central and eastern
  Washington for Friday afternoon and evening.

- Cooling temperatures back into the 80s to low 90s this weekend
  with continued breezy winds.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Temperatures will gradually warm back up through the end of the
week. Highs will be above normal Thursday and Friday in the
upper 80s and 90s. Over the weekend temperatures cool back down
a few degrees into the 80s to low 90s with breezy west winds
across most of the region.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Thursday through Sunday: With the Inland Northwest under the
influence of an upper level ridge positioned in the Gulf of Alaska,
temperatures will continue to warm through the end of the week with
highs expected in the upper 80s to upper 90s for most locations by
Friday. A couple of shortwaves will roll down the eastern side of
the ridge into British Columbia - the first arriving early Thursday
and the second Friday into Saturday - bringing breezy winds, cooler
temperatures, and isolated chances for showers and thunderstorms to
the northernmost parts of WA and ID.

With the first shortwave approaching, northerly winds have already
began to pick up down the Okanogan Valley as of 12:30am. The
increasing surface pressure gradient combined with the passage of a
gust front produced a particularly strong gust of 55 mph at Oroville
just before midnight. Gusty north winds are expected to continue
down the Okanogan Valley through early Thursday afternoon with
sustained speeds of 10 to 20 mph and gusts of 25 to 35 mph. As was
already observed, isolated higher gusts are not out of the question.
For southeastern WA and the Central ID Panhandle, winds will remain
westerly.

The second shortwave will move through Friday into Saturday bringing
more widespread westerly/southwesterly winds with gusts in the 25 to
40 mph range across much of Central and Eastern WA. Most of the
moisture and showers with this shortwave will stay north of the
border, but isolated showers will be possible in far northeastern WA
and North ID Friday afternoon and evening. Widespread winds combined
with dry humidity values will lead to elevated fire weather
concerns. Thus, a Fire Weather Watch has been issued for portions of
Central and Eastern WA from 2pm to 10pm Friday.

Monday through Wednesday: Models are suggesting a broader trough
will drop into the region early next week which would further cool
temperatures and bring additional winds as well as shower and
thunderstorm chances to Northern WA and North ID. Latest NBM runs
show chances of precipitation rising to around 20% by Monday
afternoon from Wenatchee to Spokane to Kellogg. These chances
increase to around 50% as you go north toward the Canadian border.
We will continue to monitor this trough and potential impacts over
the coming days. /Fewkes

&&

.AVIATION...
12Z TAFS: VFR conditions under mostly clear skies will continue
through the 24 hr TAF period. Winds will be gusty down the
Okanogan Valley today, particularly this morning with gusts up
to around 25 kts. Westerly winds across the Columbia Basin and
gusty at times up to between 15-20 kts at KPUW and KLWS this
afternoon.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
that VFR conditions will continue at all TAF sites. /SVH

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane        91  60  92  62  84  58 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Coeur d`Alene  90  59  92  61  83  57 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Pullman        87  54  89  57  81  53 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Lewiston       97  66  99  68  91  63 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Colville       88  49  91  53  83  48 /   0   0   0  10  10  10
Sandpoint      86  54  87  57  80  53 /   0   0   0  10  10   0
Kellogg        86  62  89  63  79  59 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Moses Lake     94  60  96  60  88  56 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      95  68  95  67  86  63 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Omak           93  62  94  61  88  58 /   0   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Fire Weather Watch from Friday afternoon through Friday
     evening for Eastern Columbia Basin  -Palouse  -Spokane
     Area (Zone 708)-Foothills of Central Washington Cascades
     (Zone 705)-Lower Palouse  -Snake River (Zone 709)-
     Waterville Plateau (Zone 706)-Western Columbia Basin
     (Zone 707).
ID...None.

&&

$$