Wet weather on the way through Friday

Rainfall is expected over the Inland Northwest later today and Friday with possible rain showers lingering through the weekend. Snow is not expected. A series of weak weather disturbances continues later this afternoon with National Weather Service forecasters calling for a 70 percent chance of rain. Radar images show that the moisture is just now sliding east of the Cascades and into the Columbia Basin as of 11 a.m. A high today of 39 is forecast with a low of 35. Rain chances drop to 50 percent tonight, but then increase on Friday to 70 percent as a low pressure area moves across northwest Washington. Rain amounts are expected to be light, in the range of a tenth of an inch. Higher air pressure that brought sunny skies earlier in the week has given way to a weak storm track. The high is now centered over western Canada. Later in the weekend, forecasters said, the Canadian high should start to split incoming Pacific storms, sending some of the energy to the north and the other part to the south. Precipitation chances diminish to 30 percent on Saturday and 20 percent on Saturday night and Sunday. Snow levels drop to 2,400 feet on Sunday night. Highs should remain in the lower 40s with lows going from the middle to lower 30s as the weekend wears on. Weak weather disturbances should continue next week. On Wednesday, Spokane International Airport had 0.02 inches of precipitation, but only a trace of snow. Snowfall for the season stands at 20.8 inches, well below the average of 35.7 inches through Wednesday.