Weather: Cloudy skies, rain possible before region warms up after weekend

Unsettled and cooler weather is expected over the Inland Northwest through this weekend with highs running in the middle 50s to near 60 degrees.

A cold front that crossed the region on Wednesday morning has ushered in a broad area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere.

That will increase the chances of rain showers on Friday and Saturday. The greatest chance of seeing wet weather will be on Saturday.

Mostly cloudy skies will be part of the picture until Sunday when partly sunny skies are expected.

The cooler weather is close to the normal for this time of year.

However, warmer weather should arrive starting on Monday as the region moves to temperatures that are above seasonal norms.

There appears to be no risk of frost in most locales, in part because of a cloud layer that should persist into the weekend to moderate heat escape at night. Lows will be in the upper 30s and lower 40s.

Coeur d’Alene may see a slightly greater chance of showers on Saturday. The National Weather Service pegged chances there at 50 percent Saturday compared with a 40 percent chance of showers in Spokane and Pullman.

In Sandpoint, the chances of showers will run from tonight through the day on Sunday. Temperatures will be in the middle 50s for highs and lower to middle 30s for lows.

There is a chance of frost on the north end of Lake Pend Oreille on Friday night when a low of 31 is in the forecast.

To the west, the Columbia Basin should see sunshine on Friday and again on Sunday with highs closer to 60 degrees.

Looking ahead, highs on Monday in Spokane should reach about 67 and then go to the middle 70s on Tuesday and Wednesday with mostly sunny skies. Lows should warm up. By Tuesday night, the low is forecast at a mild 50 degrees.

Normal temperatures in Spokane for this time of year show highs near 59 and lows near 38.