Cool weather continues; warm up coming

One more day of cool, blustery April weather is in store for the Inland Northwest as a strong upper level low stays stalled over the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters said there remains a chance of rain or snow showers in the valleys of the region and snow showers in the mountains through tonight before a slow warming trend begins on Thursday. The snow level around Spokane today should be at 2,400 to 2,900 feet in elevation, low enough to bring snow to the surrounding hills and mountains should showers develop. A high today in Spokane of 49 is 12 degrees below normal, but 4 degrees warmer than the high of 45 on Tuesday. The low tonight is forecast to reach 35. In Coeur d’Alene, the high should be 48 with a low tonight of 36. Winds will shift to the east and begin to subside today to about 13 mph after Monday and Tuesday brought windy conditions across the region. Warmer weather begins Thursday with highs expected in the upper 50s and then middle to upper 60s on Friday under sunny skies. Saturday could reach 70 degrees with some clouds, and then Sunday the highs fall back to the low-60s with a slight chance of showers. If April has seemed on the cold side this year, local statistics bear that out. National Weather Service records show that the average temperature of 45.2 degrees this month has been 1.1 degrees below normal. At 7 a.m., temperatures were running from 39 to 41 degrees across the region. Winds in Sandpoint were blowing out of the northeast at 21 mph, but other readings in the region showed wind speeds in the teens or lower. Sunset today is at 8 p.m. Sunrise on Thursday is at 5:34 a.m.