Showers likely today; look for sun on Tuesday

A moist southwesterly flow continues to bring clouds and thunderstorms to much of the Inland Northwest, particularly to the mountains of North Idaho, where a flood watch has been posted. Rainfall totals of up to an inch were reported early today across North Idaho, and with the ground saturated, it was feared that any additional rain could cause creeks and streams to rise and possibly trigger debris flows, forecasters said. The National Weather Service late this morning expanded the flash flood watch to include Spokane, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties in Washington. Also, a hazardous weather outlook for the risk of thunderstorms was posted for all of North Idaho and Eastern Washington through tonight. One weather station near Kellogg in Shoshone County had an inch of rain in the past 24 hours. Deary in North Idaho had a half inch and Potlatch, Idaho, had a quarter inch. The rainfall amounts varied depending on the location of thunderstorms. One community weather reporter near Sandpoint had .42 inches of rain while another near Sandpoint had .07 inches. Priest Lake was under a heavy storm this morning with .36 inches of rain falling around 7 a.m. Several Washington locations saw heavy rain. A community weather observer in the Fairwood neigbborhood reported .65 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. Observers in Otis Orchards, Davenport and Grand Coulee also measured a half inch at each location. The wet weather came from a low-pressure system that rotated from California northward on Sunday and stopped its eastward progress over the higher terrain of North Idaho, forecasters said. Highs of 74 in Spokane and 75 in Coeur d’Alene are expected today with showers and clouds increasing after 11 a.m. Daytime heating should increase uplift and add storm energy to the cloud layer overhead. The chance of showers today is 70 percent in both cities, and 30 percent tonight. Fair weather returns on Tuesday when mostly sunny conditions and highs near 80 are being forecasted. A chance of showers returns on Tuesday night and Wednesday, but more sunny weather should arrive later in the week. Summer begins on Saturday with the arrival of the solstice at 10:46 p.m. At 7 a.m., temperatures were in the upper 50s to lower 60s, with 60 at Spokane International Airport, 61 at Coeur d’Alene, 58 at Pullman and 59 at Sandpoint.