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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Weather forecast bad news for firefighters

Expected lightning, winds prompt warning

The sun burns through smoke over Bayview, Idaho on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 as fire crews work through the night to try and contain the fire that started on Sunday, July 5.

As if firefighters don’t have enough trouble trying to stop wildfires across the region, the National Weather Service warns of lightning storms and wind gusts this afternoon.

A weak cold front is expected to move south out of Canada and cross into the mountainous tier of counties from the Cascades to Western Montana.

Forecasters said thunderstorms would be confined mainly to the mountains, but some may drift south into the northern Columbia Basin.

The fire weather watch issued by the weather service is for the northern section of Spokane County and portions of Okanogan County along with all of Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille counties.

In Idaho, the watch is for Kootenai, Benewah, Shoshone, Bonner and Boundary counties.

High temperatures in the lower 90s and low humidity levels could worsen any fires. Highs will increase several degrees each day, peaking in the middle 90s on Thursday in Spokane.

Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint should be just a few degrees cooler than Spokane.

Forecasters said the high-pressure system that has brought the early summer heat wave shows signs of loosening its hold over the region by this weekend.

Along with the change in weather comes a heightened chance of showers or thunderstorms through the weekend. Highs will drop to the upper 80s and lower 90s by Saturday or Sunday in Spokane.

Spokane has now seen 13 days with highs of 90 degrees or hotter, including a 105-degree high on June 28, which was the hottest day in Spokane since 1961 and the hottest reading ever in June. Records date back to 1881.

Air quality in North Idaho fell into the moderately polluted category on Monday, and the forecast is for continued moderate smoke pollution today. In Spokane, monitors of smoke particles were shut down for repair, but the air quality forecast was for moderate pollution today.