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

Weekend weather: Forecast on cool side for holiday

After a long hot and dry spell, the weather has reversed itself and will keep the Inland Northwest on the cool side through the holiday weekend.

A mix of clouds and sun could be accompanied by patchy areas of wildfire smoke.

Rain showers might envelop parts of the region Saturday from North Idaho into Eastern Washington.

High temperatures in Spokane will start out in the 60s today following the cold front on Wednesday. It should stay cool through Saturday as another low-pressure area approaches the region.

Temperatures are expected to creep back to the 70s on Sunday and Monday as warmer air starts to return to the region. Those two days should have the nicest weather of the holiday weekend.

Normal temperatures in Spokane this time of year are in the upper 70s for highs.

The cooler air will be most noticeable in the upper elevations where highs will struggle to reach the lower 50s and lows should be in the 30s to low 40s. Showers may arrive on Saturday in the mountains.

National Weather Service forecasters said a mix of weak cold fronts and upper-level low pressure areas is creating some uncertainty in the forecasts.

They are pretty sure that a low pressure area migrating southward along the coast will come ashore to the south of the Inland Northwest by the weekend and keep showers to the south.

But that system likely will draw a pulse of cool and dry Canadian air from the north, kicking up winds and dropping the humidity in the Okanogan region Friday and Saturday.

Those conditions could stir up flames in the massive wildfires in the Okanogan.

There is a chance that the same low-pressure area could tap into atmospheric moisture and send it back northward on Saturday, causing showers. That system would then head eastward across the rest of the country for Sunday and Monday.

Highs could return to 80 degrees by Tuesday.