Mild weather continues for one more day

One more day of unseasonably mild temperatures will keep the Inland Northwest on the easy side of winter today, but a cooling trend with chances of rain or snow are expected to replace it starting on Friday. A high today in the middle to upper 40s should come close to Wednesday’s high of 48 at Spokane International Airport, which tied a record for the date set in 2005. Clouds and light east winds are expected to accompany the March-like conditions today with a low tonight in the low 30s. The pattern begins to change on Friday as a deep low off the California coast moves inland and breaks up the long southerly fetch of mild air and moisture that has streamed across the region for the past 10 days. Initially, the chance of rain or snow will be in the 30 to 40 percent range on Friday and Saturday, but a stronger storm system approaches the region on Sunday night and Monday, pushing the chances for precipitation to about 60 percent. Highs will drop into the middle and upper 30s, which is still above normal for this time of year by a few degrees. Lows should be in the upper 20s to about 30. Normal temperatures for today in Spokane are 33 for a high and 22 for a low. Snow levels will begin to hover between 2,000 and 2,500 feet, bringing the chance of wintry conditions to valley floors off and on during the next six days. At 7 a.m. it was 35 at the airport, 37 in downtown Spokane, 34 in Coeur d’Alene, 36 in Deer Park and Pullman.