Sunrise 6:03 AM   Sunset 7:57 PM Moonrise 1:38 PM   Moonset 3:32 AM

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FXUS66 KOTX 182158 AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 258 PM PDT Thu Apr 18 2024

SYNOPSIS
Cool and showery conditions continue today, before drying out and becoming breezy Friday. Showers return for Saturday evening through Sunday. Mild and dry weather returns for the start of work week while showers arrive by mid week.

DISCUSSION

Tonight through Saturday night: Showers have popped up again this afternoon across the Eastern WA and ID Panhandle. So far we have had reports of light snow, rain, and graupel with these showers. Expect daytime temperatures to cool in the showers. Temperatures at our office dropped from 47F to 39F as the showers passed through, warming again behind to 45F about an couple hour later. In areas that won't see showers, daytime highs remain cool in the 50s.
Showers and winds will weaken in the early evening hours.

An upper level low will dig across the region that will tighten the pressure gradient, creating gusty winds across the Columbia Basin.
Northeast winds will gust to 35 mph in the afternoon, decreasing overnight. Besides the wind, conditions will warm slightly and dry out, leaving sunny conditions for the region.

Weak ridging will build for Saturday, with another dry, sunny and slightly warmer start to the day. Upper level clouds will move in from the west ahead of the next system arriving Sunday. /KM

Sunday through Tuesday: A shortwave trough is on track to approach from the west Saturday night into Sunday, increasing cloud cover and bringing back chances for showers over the mountains. With the arrival of this wave, winds will be breezy through the day on Sunday gusting to 25-30 mph across the region. A cold front associated with the shortwave will drop snow levels to 3-4 kft by Sunday morning, so any mountain showers will likely be in the form of snow.

The breezy, showery weather will be short-lived, as weak ridging will return to start off the workweek. Dry and mild weather looks to prevail through at least the first half next week with temperatures rising slightly above normal by Tuesday.

Temperatures will start off rather cold Monday morning in the low 30s, but will be quick to warm up after sunrise. Highs for Monday will be in the low 60s for most locations, and on Tuesday they'll reach the upper 60s to low 70s.

Beyond Tuesday, forecast confidence dwindles. Models disagree on how long the ridging pattern will stick around before our next low pressure system moves in. Most models are hinting at the next low approaching the Washington coast sometime in the Tuesday night/Wednesday timeframe, putting us in a mild southwest flow regime with intermittent showers through the end of the week. More info to come on how that pattern change will play out as it gets closer. /Fewkes

AVIATION
00z TAFS: Showers have redevelop this afternoon, but confidence of them going over any particular TAF location is low. VFR conditions will prevail.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: There is high confidence in VFR conditions through the TAF period.

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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 32 56 33 64 39 57 / 0 0 0 0 40 30 Coeur d'Alene 30 54 31 63 38 54 / 10 0 0 0 50 40 Pullman 30 56 33 64 37 52 / 0 0 0 0 60 30 Lewiston 35 64 36 71 43 61 / 0 0 0 0 50 20 Colville 27 56 26 63 35 58 / 10 0 0 0 40 50 Sandpoint 30 51 31 59 38 51 / 10 0 0 0 50 60 Kellogg 30 51 32 62 39 49 / 20 0 0 0 60 60 Moses Lake 36 63 38 69 40 63 / 0 0 0 0 20 10 Wenatchee 37 60 37 63 41 59 / 0 0 0 0 20 10 Omak 35 61 34 65 40 64 / 0 0 0 0 30 10

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

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