Clouds, showers greet start of June

Another mild and cloudy spring day could lead to showers by this afternoon and even a repeat of Tuesday’s outbreak of thunderstorms across the Inland Northwest. National Weather Service forecasters are calling for highs of about 66 degrees in Spokane and Spokane with a 60 percent chance of showers in both cities. Rainfall amounts should be light, except beneath thunderstorm cells where accumulations could be higher. The main weather action is expected south of the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas towards southeast Washington, the Blue Mountains and the central Panhandle. Overnight lows remain moderate in the middle 40s, but Thursday should bring a distinctly cooler feel with temperatures about five degrees cooler than today. The chance of showers persists through Thursday night. Then, the region is in store for a big warm up through early next week with highs going from the middle 60s on Friday to near 80 on Sunday. The warmer weather should linger until Tuesday. That heating could result in melting temperatures in the upper mountains and unleash a new round of high water in the region’s lakes and rivers starting next week. However, serious flooding is not anticipated. Forecasters said most of the higher elevation snows are yet to release their water content, which is considerable. At 7 a.m., it was 47 at Spokane International Airport, 51 at Felts Field, 48 at Deer Park, 49 in Coeur d’Alene and 47 in Pullman