Highs in the 90s likely through Friday

Hot weather will continue across the Inland Northwest through the end of the week, but a weak weather disturbance moving into the Pacific Northwest will bring a chance of thunderstorms starting tonight. National Weather Service forecasters are calling for the main threat of lightning to occur across southeast Washington and the Idaho Panhandle, but Spokane has a 20 percent chance of thundershowers. Idaho has a 30 percent chance. The high today is expected to reach 92 degrees in downtown Spokane and 91 in Coeur d’Alene. Winds will be light. Highs are expected to remain in the lower 90s through Friday and then drop by several degrees into the middle and upper 80s over the weekend. Various layers of clouds are likely through Saturday. Forecasters said the fire danger remains high, with the chance of lightning and breezy winds combined with dry conditions and low daytime humidity. A strong area of higher air pressure is being pushed south and east of the area by a series of encroaching low-pressure systems off the western U.S. coast. Those lows are likely to send disturbances inland starting tonight and then again on Saturday. At 8 a.m., it was 65 degrees at Spokane International Airport, 62 at Felts Field and 64 in Coeur d’Alene.