Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Spokane, WA
Issued by NWS Spokane, WA
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933 FXUS66 KOTX 120907 AFDOTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 107 AM PST Wed Nov 12 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Breezy and wet Thursday into Friday. - Mountain snow late Thursday into Friday night. Additional snow in the mountains Sunday into Monday. Minor travel impacts expected. && .SYNOPSIS... Increasing clouds with light rain early Wednesday. Wetter and windy weather returns Thursday and Friday. Light snow is expected over mountain passes. A brief break between weather systems on Saturday. Then another weather system Saturday night into early Monday will bring additional light precipitation including more light snow to mountain passes, especially Sunday night into Monday morning. && .DISCUSSION... Today and tonight: A warm front lifts north across the region morning, lifting toward the Canadian border later tonight in advance of the low pressure trough deepening off the coast. This will bring rain to portions of the northern two-third of WA and ID this morning, with the threat then lifting toward the northern counties and backing against the Cascades later this afternoon into tonight. This system will largely bring only lighter precipitation, with most outside the mountain seeing only a couple hundredths or so, with may be just up to a tenth of an inch near the Cascade crest and northeast mountains. Snow levels rise above 7000 feet, bringing only light accumulations near the Cascade crest. Otherwise it will remain mostly cloudy to cloudy, with some breaks come from the south later this afternoon into tonight, especially the southeast CWA. However additional fog will be possible today and again tonight, with the best chances around the sheltered mountain valleys. Thursday and Friday: a more dynamic system moves inland. This will bring increasing rain from the west Thursday morning into afternoon, continuing into the evening before the threat starts to wane gradually from the west overnight into Friday. By Friday afternoon the highest precipitation potential will be in the mountains, with still some moderate chances over the east third of WA. Snow levels remain relatively high Thursday, then start to drop from the west Thursday night into Friday, dropping to near 3500-4500 feet. Most of the more significant snow will remain near Washington pass, with 3-6 inches possible. Lighter amounts are possible at other passes heading into Friday, generally less than an inch. Elsewhere rain amounts of 0.10 to 0.20 inches will be common, with near 0.50 to 1 inch heading into the mountains zones and along WA/ID border. Wind turn breezy going into late Thursday and especially Friday with gusts near 15-25 mph. Saturday to Tuesday: the pattern remains active and progressive. Weak ridging and westerly flow will keep some shower chances around the mountains zones Saturday, with linger smaller chances in the eastern third of WA/lower ID. Then the next more organized system moves in between Sunday and Tuesday. Models are in less agreement in the overall evolution of the pattern, with some more progressive than others. However look for renewed precipitation chances Sunday into early Monday, with a retreat toward the mountains Monday night into Tuesday. Snow levels rise again into Sunday, then start to drop again into early next week. They are a bit milder than this time yesterday. Some light to moderate snow will be possible in the Cascades, but there is more uncertainty than yesterday. Temperatures will be near to slightly above normal. /Solveig && .AVIATION... 06Z TAFs: A warm front will lift into the area over tonight into early Wednesday, then toward the Canadian border by late in the day. Linger low clouds and moisture that could not scour out during the day will continue to bring LIFR/MVFR conditions near GEG/SFF/LWS with low clouds and fog. THe incoming warm front will bring with it some light rain chances between 09-15Z or so, which may help to mix up the stratus a bit but primarily MVFR/IFR conditions are expected to persist through at least midday, with some improvement in the afternoon to evening. GEG appears to have the lowest potential of seeing any sustained VFR conditions. Other TAF sites will see primarily VFR conditions, with localized MVFR conditions possible with any passing showers chances. Overall the risk for precipitation. .FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Moderate to high confidence in LIFR/LIFR conditions at GEG/SFF/LWS through 09Z, with moderate confidence in some improvement between 09-15Z. Moderate to high confidence in VFR conditions at PUW/COE/MWH/EAT, with low confidence in MVFR/IFR conditions at these same spots. Low to moderate confidence in rain chances. ----------------------- 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 51 39 54 43 51 39 / 40 10 70 90 50 40 Coeur d`Alene 52 41 54 44 50 39 / 60 10 70 100 70 60 Pullman 58 43 58 44 52 39 / 20 10 60 90 70 50 Lewiston 61 47 61 49 58 44 / 10 0 30 80 50 40 Colville 47 33 49 36 50 32 / 60 20 90 90 60 50 Sandpoint 49 37 50 41 48 37 / 80 20 80 100 90 80 Kellogg 57 46 57 46 49 40 / 60 10 70 100 90 80 Moses Lake 52 37 51 40 56 39 / 10 10 70 60 10 20 Wenatchee 50 42 51 43 54 42 / 20 20 80 70 20 30 Omak 48 39 49 40 51 38 / 30 20 80 60 20 20 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...None. ID...None. && $$