More sun today; showers this weekend

Another warm spring day is expected across the Inland Northwest, although showers are considered a possibility after 2 p.m. as more clouds develop. Cumulus clouds could show up in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas this afternoon as daytime heating sends warm air rising into cooler, higher air. The chance of showers is greater in mountain areas to the north of Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, forecasters said. Highs in the region should be in the upper 70s to lower 80s. Clouds should dissipate by evening as the daytime heating and updrafts subside. Forecasters said the warm, late-spring weather should continue through the weekend, although there is a 30 percent chance of showers in the forecast for Friday and Friday night. The chance of showers and thunderstorms increases to 50 percent on Saturday and Saturday night. Sunday will bring a bit of a cool down to the middle 70s, and the risk of showers or thunderstorms goes to 30 percent. A high pressure area extending northward along the British Columbia coast line this morning is blocking Pacific Ocean moisture now parked along the Oregon coast, where a low pressure area has been stalled in its eastward progress. That low should start sending more moisture into the Inland Northwest over the next several days as the B.C. ridge of high pressure moves eastward, forecasters said. At 7 a.m., it was 56 at Spokane International Airport and the Coeur d’Alene Airport, 55 at Deer Park, 54 in Pullman, 52 in Sandpoint, 45 in Cheney and 44 along Division Street at Hastings Road.