Cloudy skies likely to turn wet over weekend

Cloudy skies today should give way to wetter conditions over the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. A high of 61 is expected along with breezy southwest winds. A new storm system is expected tonight with rain after 11 p.m. That storm will turn to showers on Saturday and Sunday as a low pressure area moves over the Inland Northwest. Computer forecast models show that Saturday is likely to be wet, but Sunday morning may bring a break in the rain showers. Showers should reappear in the afternoon on Sunday. National Weather Service forecasters today said the chance of rain will be about 60 percent on Saturday and Sunday. Accumulations are likely to be at least a tenth of an inch to a quarter inch each day. Highs will be in the middle to upper 50s this weekend. Lows should be in the middle 40s tonight and upper 30s on Saturday night. Milder weather is likely as early as Monday as the low pressure area moves east and is replaced by a new system of higher air pressure and warmer temperatures. Highs on Monday should reach the middle 60s with the real improvement coming on Tuesday when the high in Spokane may crack 70 for the first time. The warm weather is likely through Wednesday. At 7 a.m., it was 40 at Spokane International Airport, 45 at Felts Field, 43 in Coeur d’Alene, 40 in Deer Park and 45 in Pullman.