Halloween evening to be mild, likely dry

The forecast for 6 p.m. on Sunday is calling for a temperature of 48 degrees and a 13 percent chance of showers lingering from a rain storm that is expected to exit the region Sunday afternoon. That should make trick-or-treat activities fairly pleasant for children and parents. Temperatures should drop to 44 degrees by 8 p.m. Today, the rain that began falling in the Spokane area around 3 a.m. has eased off this afternoon after dropping 0.23 inches at Spokane International Airport. Today’s rain is described as typical for late October in the Inland Northwest. The rain arrived across the Inland Northwest on a frontal band that moved into region from the southwest. Snow levels were on the rise from the warmer southwesterly flow. The storm’s circulation pattern that extendedo the Oregon and California coastline and drew relatively mild air into the region at upper elevations. Forecasters are calling for a break in the wet weather this afternoon through Saturday morning. However, more rain should arrive on a new storm Saturday afternoon into Sunday. A high of 49 is expected today with little or no wind in the valleys. The low tonight is expected to drop to the middle 30s with a high on Saturday in the lower 50s. The first part of Sunday should be wet as well with an 80 percent chance of rain. Mild air is expected to move into the region from the southwest next week and bring highs in the upper 50s to near 60 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Rain is possible, but the chances are in the 20- to 30-percent range on Sunday night through Tuesday. At 7 a.m., it was 41 at Spokane airport, Pullman and Coeur d’Alene; 42 at Felts Field; and 40 in Deer Park.