Mild afternoon coming after cold night

Cold overnight temperatures are expected to give way to bright sunshine and a mild afternoon today as highs push toward 60 degrees across the Inland Northwest. Freeze warnings had been posted for growing areas in south-central and southeastern Washington overnight, and temperatures in some locations at dawn had fallen below 32 degrees, including reporting stations in the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas. A strong ridge of higher air pressure along the western U.S. and British Columbia is creating a cool northerly flow into the region, bringing drier air and the risk of freezing temperatures at this week. Lows will continue in the 30s through Thursday night before a new shot of cold air arrives on Friday. Highs today are expected to be 62 in downtown Spokane, 61 in Spokane Valley and Post Falls and 60 in Coeur d’Alene. The National Weather Service said a weak cold front should slide southward along the back side of the higher air pressure system on Wednesday, bringing a small chance of snow to the mountains of North Idaho and breezy north winds to most of the region. Gusts to 21 mph are possible in Spokane on Wednesday. An even stronger cold front out of the north on Thursday night could usher in cooling for the weekend, bringing lows in the middle 20s Friday and Saturday nights and highs in the lower 50s under sunny skies. Because the front is moving from north to south, it is not expected to carry any precipitation. At dawn today, temperatures were 32 at Spokane International Airport, 31 at Nine Mile, 35 at Felts Field, 37 in Coeur d’Alene, 34 at Sandpoint, 27 in Deer Park and 25 in Pullman.