Temperatures plunge to 20s outside Spokane

Low temperatures this morning plunged into the 20s in outlying areas to the north and south of Spokane, including Deer Park, Pullman and Rathdrum. Temperatures of 27 and 28 degrees were reported in all three locations in the early morning hours today. Spokane dropped to 39 degrees while Coeur d’Alene saw 38. A freeze warning is in effect for Thursday morning for areas of Northeast Washington and North Idaho to the north of Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. The nighttime cold is expected to give way to warmer temperatures through early next week. Highs today should reach the lower 70s and then rise into the lower and middle 80s on Thursday through Saturday in both Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. A weak thermal low forming west of the Cascades today is causing winds to shift to a northerly to northeasterly flow. That will keep smoke from regional fires trapped the western Columbia Basin where it will pack in at lower elevations against the wall of the Cascades. The Spokane and Coeur d’Alene areas are not likely to see smoke today as a result of the wind shift. Air quality in Spokane this morning was in the good range. A westerly flow will return during the day Friday to help ventilate the smoke, forecasters said. By the weekend, a dry northerly flow is likely to set up and allow for temperatures to rise under sunny skies, but the high Sunday will return to the middle 70s, which normal for this time of year.