Some sun possible today; rain returns Thursday

Cloudy, cool conditions are going to persist through the end of October with early November likely to be much the same if not several degrees warmer, the National Weather Service said this morning. Rain and showers return to the forecast starting on Thursday and continuing through early next week. Today should be mostly cloudy in the morning with a chance of an isolated shower then becoming partly sunny later in the day. Highs will be in the upper 40s. Some afternoon sun breaks are possible in the Columbia Basin eastward into Spokane today as a weak ridge of high pressure passes through the region in advance of an offshore Pacific storm. On Thursday, the Inland Northwest will get a glancing blow from a Pacific storm moving southward into California. Rain chances are 50 percent on Thursday and 60 percent Thursday night. Rain chances continue in the 20 to 30 percent range on Friday through Monday. Highs are going to be in the upper 40s and lower 50s with lows starting at 33 in Spokane tonight going to the middle and upper 30s through Sunday night. At 7 a.m., it was 40 at Spokane International Airport, 43 at Felts Field, 39 in Coeur d’Alene, 40 in Deer Park and 37 in Pullman.