High temperatures near 70 forecast for Friday

The warmest weather of the spring is moving northward over the next few days, but don’t expect picture-perfect sunny days.

A storm forming off the Pacific Northwest coast is forecast to pump a mix of clouds and sun into the region along with mild temperatures from the south.

Mostly sunny skies and highs in the upper 50s are forecast for today.

The region can expect more clouds on Thursday with highs in the mid-60s, and on Friday, more showers but highs near 70 in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene.

The warmer air Friday could also bring thunderstorms.

Even with clouds and showers, the next few days should provide a break from cooler-than-normal conditions of recent weeks.

Earlier in the week, the National Weather Service had expected the warm weather to continue through the weekend.

“Now for Saturday and Sunday, it looks cooler,” said Laurie Nisbet, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane.

As the Pacific low migrates inland over the weekend, the region will likely see clouds and a 40 percent chance of showers with highs dropping to the low 60s by Saturday and Sunday.

Lows should run from the mid-30s to low 40s over the period.

The warmest temperature so far this year was 64 degrees on March 16, a day that saw people head outdoors in large numbers at the hint of spring.

Since then, a series of frontal systems has kept the region cool and at times windy. Gusts from two storms peaked at more than 50 mph in the Spokane area on March 29 and on Thursday.

April so far has been 4.3 degrees below normal in Spokane, a reversal from the unusually warm El Niño winter across the Inland Northwest.

Spokane has seen 1.5 inches of rain since spring began.

The average high for today in Spokane is 57; the average low is 35.