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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Weather even warmer than forecasted today

Record warmth seen overnight in Spokane

Highs today are going to exceed earlier forecasts as warm weather intensifies into the upper 70s across the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas this afternoon, forecasters said. It is the sixth consecutive day with highs of 66 or warmer in Spokane. Earlier today, the forecast called for highs in the lower 70s, but sun has prevailed through the day after overnight temperatures were at record warm levels. At 3 p.m., downtown Spokane was at 77 and Coeur d’Alene was 79. An overnight low of 51 this morning at Spokane International Airport would set a record for the warmest minimum temperature for today if the mild conditions persist through midnight. The previous record high minimum for today was 47 degrees in 1990. Tonight’s low is expected to reach about 49. That’s 2 degrees warmer than this morning’s forecasted low. Summer-like conditions will continue through the day after clouds did not appear as previously expected. A low that’s been along the West Coast since last week is slowly migrating inland across southwest Oregon and northern California. It is connected to a weak cold front along the Cascades that should slowly move eastward as well, forecasters said. Light rain was reported at 2 p.m. in Yakima and Ellensburg as the low encroaches on the warmer air east of the Cascades. The chance of showers tonight has been downgraded from 40 percent to 20 percent. The chance of thunderstorms in the Coeur d’Alene area goes to 30 percent after 5 p.m. today, forecasters said. The risk of showers increases to 50 percent on Wednesday as the cooler air starts to replace the summer-like conditions. The low tonight should remain mild in the upper 40s. Highs will drop to the lower 60s on Tuesday through Friday with lows in the middle 30s and 40s. Those temperatures will be close to normal for this time of year. Another shot of cooler air from the North Pacific Ocean could be drawn across the region on Friday as new system of higher air pressure nudges into the coast. At 7 a.m. today, it was 53 at Spokane International Airport, 52 in downtown Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, 55 in Deer Park and 48 in Pullman.