Sun, high clouds replace rain for now

Drier weather today and Friday will give the Inland Northwest a break in a weather pattern that is likely to bring more wet Pacific storms through next week. Fog this morning near Moses Lake, Othello, Wilbur and Coulee City was expected to dissipate by this afternoon, but visibilities had dropped to a quarter mile earlier today. Highs today should reach the middle to upper 50s with partly sunny skies possible this afternoon under calm winds. A high pressure area is building across Eastern Washington this morning in the wake of a two-day rain storm that left about a half inch of rain or more across the Inland Northwest. The high pressure area should persist overnight and on Friday before a new Pacific rain storm approaches from the west. National Weather Service forecasters said the bullseye of the storm Friday appears to be pointed at north central Washington areas of Omak and Wenatchee. That is a region that had suffered from mild drought during the most recent growing season. Rain should hold off in the Spokane region until late Friday, and even then, the chance of rain of wet weather is only 30 percent. Saturday is more likely to be wet with the chance of rain increasing to 50 percent during the day and 70 percent at night. Forecast models are not clear on how far east and how fast the weekend rain storm will progress, but it appears likely there will be rain at some point on Saturday, according to the Weather Service. The lingering storm may bring a 40 percent chance of rain on Sunday. A break in the moist weather is seen Monday night and Tuesday before another rain storm is likely during the middle of next week. Highs through Sunday should run in the upper 50s to lower 60s and fall into the 40s at night. Those temperatures are close to normal for mid-October. Snow is not expected in the mountains because the incoming storm this weekend will bring milder air to upper elevations. At 7 a.m., temperatures were 43 at Spokane International Airport, 44 at Felts Field, 48 at Coeur d’Alene, 41 at Sandpoint, 43 at Deer Park and 39 at Pullman.