After Friday’s rumble, expect sunny weekend

The threat of severe thunderstorms has diminished across the Spokane region after a round of thunderstorms pounded the Inland Northwest Friday afternoon, bringing a risk of flash flooding and golf-ball-size hail beneath the strongest storms.

Storms popped up across the region and moved in a north-northeasterly direction, bringing down trees and power lines and cutting power to some residents.

The storms fired up in south-central Washington around 1 p.m. and reached the Spokane area around 2 p.m. through 4 p.m.

A cooler lower-pressure area dropped southward from the Gulf of Alaska on Friday, forecasters said. It will bring dry air and sunshine with highs in the 80s and lows in the upper 50s this weekend in Spokane, slightly higher than in Coeur d’Alene.

The National Weather Service forecast a 20 percent chance of rain for Sunday night across the region.

High temperatures could drop to the middle 70s on Monday before warming again later in the week.