Dry weather dominates winter

The trend toward dry weather will continue through this weekend with Pacific storm systems being blunted by a persistent area of high pressure over the Pacific Northwest. Gusty winds to 29 mph today are possible in the wake of a storm system that crossed the region in the overnight hours. Cooler Pacific air behind the system will replace the mild air that had migrated into the region from the south ahead of the storm on Wednesday. Highs toay in the middle 40s will be several degrees cooler than the high of 53 on Wednesday at Spokane International Airport. Wednesday’s high was two degrees shy of the record for the date in 1893. Through the weekend, highs will be in the middle 30s with sun and clouds through the period. Lows should be in the middle 20s. Those temperatures will still be a few degrees above normal for early January. There is a slight chance of snow Friday night and again on Monday night. The 3.47 inches of precipitation in Spokane since Oct. 1 is less than 60 percent of normal. At 8 a.m., it was 36 and partly cloudy at Spokane International Airport. It was 38 at Felts Field near Millwood and 39 in Coeur d’Alene.