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880
FXUS66 KOTX 262220
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
320 PM PDT Fri Jul 26 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
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Friday through the weekend will be mostly dry with near average
temperatures. A weather system arriving Monday and Tuesday will
bring a chance for some showers and thunderstorms in the Inland
Northwest. Dry and hot weather returns later next week.
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.DISCUSSION...

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Today: Northwest flow aloft and lower heights continue to bring
more comfortable temperatures to the area. Winds across the area
are light, which should help to reduce some smoke production.
Nonetheless, the HRRR smoke shows a swath of smoke from the
Swawilla fire migrating towards the Colville area this evening and
overnight. The fires near Juliaetta are sending smoke to the
southwest and the Lewiston has cleared out a bit.

Saturday and Sunday: A closed low off California moving inland
will help to maintain lower heights across the area, while an
approaching shortwave will move across the area, bringing tighter
pressure gradients and increased winds across central Washington
on Saturday and central and eastern Washington Sunday. There is a
20-40% chance of meeting red flag conditions near Wenatchee and
the L-C valley Saturday and Sunday. There is a 10-20% chance of
thunderstorms in the north Cascades/northern mountains Saturday as
model soundings show weak conditional instability building with
the shortwave passage.

Monday and Tuesday: Another stronger shortwave trough from the Gulf
of Alaska will move onshore late Monday into Tuesday, bringing
tighter pressure gradients and stronger associated winds,
elevating fire concerns despite higher humidities. Associated with
this is a chance for wetting rain approaching 50% northeast of
Spokane and in the Cascades/Idaho Panhandle Monday through Tuesday
night, as well as a 10-20% chance of lightning. Unfortunately,
central Washington is unlikely to see a wetting rain during this
time, and as wind increases, fire concerns will be elevated with
the very dry fuels. Nonetheless, increased cloud cover and
humidity will aid fire-fighting efforts. Temperatures will remain
near-average during this period.

Wednesday through Friday: Models are in good agreement that a
ridge will start to build back in later next week, which will
bring increasing heat to area, with high temperatures approaching
the mid-90s to low-100s. Winds will abate to below critical levels
during this period, but associated dry air and increased heat will
still likely allow for fire risk levels to remain at or near
levels seen earlier in the week. /Cooke
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&&

.AVIATION...
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00Z TAFS: Dry northwest flow aloft will keep conditions VFR
through the period with light and diurnally/terrain driven winds.
Smoke from local and regional wildfires wildfires may result in
intermittent visibility reductions to 6SM. The exception will be
for KLWS where nearby fires (River and Gwen) to the east will
result in reductions to 4SM or less, bouncing between MVFR and IFR
conditions. Northwest winds in the afternoon may slightly improve
conditions but confidence is low.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: There is low
confidence on how smoke will impact visibility across the Inland
Northwest.

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

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
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&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
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Spokane        53  87  56  86  59  84 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
Coeur d`Alene  51  85  54  84  57  81 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
Pullman        47  82  50  81  52  82 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Lewiston       59  92  61  92  65  91 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
Colville       44  84  45  84  47  82 /   0  10  10   0   0  30
Sandpoint      47  82  50  82  52  78 /   0   0   0   0   0  20
Kellogg        55  80  57  80  59  79 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
Moses Lake     53  89  55  89  57  87 /   0   0   0   0   0  10
Wenatchee      61  88  61  88  64  84 /   0   0   0   0  10  20
Omak           58  91  58  91  60  86 /   0  10  10   0   0  30
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&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...None.
WA...None.
&&

$$