Warmer version of spring starts today
Cool, wet, windy weather going away for at least a week
The Inland Northwest is going to see a big weather change starting today with a switch from soggy, cool weather to milder temperatures in the 60s and lower 70s.
A slot of dry air has moved northward this morning and has brought mostly sunny skies with it.
Forecasters are calling for highs today in the lower 60s in downtown Spokane and 59 in downtown Coeur d’Alene. Some clouds may hang around the mountains in Idaho for partly sunny conditions.
After today, a more pronounced warm up arrives with highs pushing into the upper 60s on Thursday with mostly sunny skies in Spokane and then the lower 70s on Friday.
A low pressure forming today off the Pacific Northwest coast is expected to create a southerly air flow over the inland region, but also bring an increasing chance of clouds and even thunderstorms by Friday.
Despite the warm air on Friday, forecaster said they expect the skies to be mostly cloudy.
The cloudy and mild conditions should continue through the weekend with highs dropping to the lower and middle 60s on Saturday and Sunday when there will be a 30 percent chance of showers both days.
Lows through the weekend should run from the upper 30s tonight to the 40s through Monday night.
The low pressure system off the coast should migrate inland during the weekend and send pulses of moisture across the region, forecasters said this morning.
However, the National Weather Service said it expects a return to partly sunny conditions and a high of 69 on Monday.
At 7 a.m., it was 35 at Spokane International Airport, 39 in downtown Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, 37 in Deer Park and 36 in Pullman.
In the North Idaho mountains on Tuesday, Mullan Pass saw a record 0.57 inches of rain, which broke the previous record of 0.48 inches set in 1953. Record have been kept there since 1938.