Near-record temperature reached in Spokane

Winds gusting to 40 mph and a near-record high temperature blew into the Inland Northwest this afternoon. The temperature at Spokane International Airport rose to 50 degrees just before 3 p.m. today, almost reaching the record of 51 in 1973. The temperature Friday hit 51 in downtown Spokane, Cheney and Coeur d’Alene. A warm air stream ahead of an incoming storm front was responsible for the warm air here. Downward moving air from the southerly flow off the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon had pushed the temperature into the low 60s in Walla Walla today. More wet and mild weather is arriving across the lowlands of the Inland Northwest tonight and Saturday, with flooding now being reported in parts of North Idaho as a result of an accumulation of water. Snow is expected in the mountains north of Spokane and Coeur d’Alene above 4,000 feet. Basement flooding was reported earlier this week in Sandpoint, and a flood warning has been issued for Stevens and Pend Oreille counties in Washington as well as Bonner and Boundary counties of North Idaho. A moist Pacific storm that’s tapping subtropical air to the southwest should sweep into the region tonight and Saturday with the heaviest rainfall and mountain snow pointed toward Sandpoint and areas mainly to the west of there. Rainfall is expected to continue tonight along with gusty winds and a low in the upper 30s. The chance of rain continues through Monday when a drop in temperatures to the middle and lower 30s could bring some snow and rain mixed to lower elevations. In the mountains, snow levels should be about 4,500 to 5,000 feet north of Spokane and Coeur d’Alene and 5,000 feet to the south and in the central Panhandle. Accumulations of as much as 8 inches could fall on the middle and upper slopes. In the lower elevations, frozen ground continues to cause water to collect in fields and along roads. As a result, the National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for the Inland Northwest. The southerly flow across the region is once again creating a down slope warming of air moving over the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon. Walla Walla was 61 degrees at 7 a.m. A similar warming event occurred earlier this week and extended as far north as the Spokane airport.