Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Wenatchee, WA

SYNOPSIS
Temperatures will remain above normal through the weekend and into next week, with the highest temperatures expected on Monday. Fire weather will be a concern Tuesday with warm, dry conditions and gusty westerly winds with a cold front passage.

DISCUSSION
Today through Monday: A strengthening ridge off the PNW coast will begin to move eastward and inland through the weekend.
Conditions will remain dry apart from the northern Idaho Panhandle, which could see weak showers as a shortwave passes through. Otherwise, the main focus for the weekend is on temperatures, which are already 3-5 degrees higher than normal, and will continue warming as the ridge moves over the state. By Monday, temperatures will be 10-15 degrees above normal for this time of year. This will result in widespread Moderate HeatRisk throughout the Inland Northwest. Moderate HeatRisk poses a danger to anyone who is heat sensitive and does not have access to adequate cooling or hydration.

Tuesday: On Tuesday, the ridge begins to break down and a robust cold front moves through the area. This will bring impactful westerly gusty winds as the pressure gradient along the Cascades tightens. Wind gusts are anticipated to reach 40 mph and higher regionwide on Tuesday afternoon, with isolated wind gusts of 50 mph and higher along the Cascade gaps. NBM probabilities show much of the deeper Columbia basin with a 90-100% chance of seeing wind gusts higher than 40 mph, while the rest of the area has a 30-50% chance. These wind gusts could result in blowing objects, damage to small tree limbs, and difficulty driving, especially for high profile vehicles.
Additionally, very dry conditions will be present Tuesday, with minimum relative humidity anticipated to drop into the teens throughout the region. This will lead to critical fire weather conditions, especially along the east slopes of the Cascades and in the Columbia Basin. Any new fires in dry grasses could easily escape containment and become difficult to contain. This will continue to be monitored through the weekend.

Wednesday through Friday: Throughout the rest of the work week, temperatures will cool, but only by a few degrees, and will remain higher than normal for this time of year. Highs will remain in the mid-80s, and low temperatures will remain in the mid-50s. Much of the forecast area will remain in Minor HeatRisk through at least next Friday. Winds will decrease by Wednesday afternoon and evening, but will still remain breezy. Cluster agreement on higher heights remaining over the area remains unanimous through Friday. By the weekend, clusters begin showing signals of a trough moving through. Conditions will remain dry, with no precipitation expected through Friday. /AS

AVIATION
06Z TAFs...VFR conditions expected at all TAF sites. Winds will be from the northeast at 10kts or less.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence in VFR conditions through the period. PDT

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

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 49 83 53 88 60 86 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coeur d'Alene 49 80 53 85 58 85 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pullman 47 79 49 84 55 85 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lewiston 53 86 55 91 60 93 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colville 45 84 51 89 56 87 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sandpoint 48 80 52 83 56 85 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kellogg 47 81 51 84 57 84 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moses Lake 54 89 56 96 62 90 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 60 89 64 95 68 85 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Omak 55 90 60 95 63 88 / 0 0 0 0 0 0

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