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

Low pressure systems bring warmer temperatures but uncertain skies.

A warming trend starting today should send high temperatures into the lower to middle 80s through Sunday.

The chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms will persist through Friday in Spokane and Saturday in Coeur d’Alene, but the sky will be mostly sunny through Saturday.

Clouds may reappear by Sunday at the same time that conditions dry out across the region. A new low pressure area with showers is due to arrive by Monday.

The unsettled weather over the past two weeks has resulted from a series of slow-moving low-pressure systems that are not connected to the main jet stream of high-altitude steering winds. The jet stream is split with one stream of upper winds flowing across the arctic and northern Canada and another flow dipping across California and the Southwest.

That pattern is continuing into next week.

As a result, weather forecasters are having a hard time determining the location, timing and intensity of showers.

In general, thunderstorms and showers are more likely to the north and around the mountains through Saturday.

Sandpoint could see showers through the next several days. Highs will be in the upper 70s to lower 80s there.

Patchy fog is possible in that area again this morning.

Most mountain areas will be relatively mild, with highs in the lower and middle 60s and lows in the upper 40s to about 50.

There is an ongoing threat of showers and thunderstorms through Saturday at upper elevations.

Showers are in the forecast for the mountains in Shoshone County and along the Montana border. Partly sunny skies are expected between the showers, and highs could reach the upper 60s and lower 70s.

Warmer and drier weather is expected to the west of Spokane.

The Lake Roosevelt recreation area on the Columbia River is likely to see highs in the middle 80s today, warming to near 90 degrees by Saturday. Patchy fog is possible this morning. A slight chance of showers is in the forecast for Friday.

The Columbia Basin to the west and southwest is likely to see the greatest amount of sunshine with highs going from the middle 80s today to the lower 90s on Saturday before dropping a few degrees to the upper 80s on Sunday.

Conditions are expected to dry out across the region on Sunday before a new low-pressure area approaches the region on Monday. A new round of showers is possible then.