Weekend weather: More showers ahead, but Saturday should bring some sunshine

A spell of showery spring weather will carry the Inland Northwest into the weekend, but Saturday may end up being partly sunny.

A big storm that washed ashore in Oregon on Wednesday failed to produce significant rain in the Inland Northwest.

But forecasters said that the low pressure system associated with that storm will set up an unsettled flow for the next two days, allowing disturbances to migrate to the region from the coast of British Columbia.

National Weather Service forecasters said that the unsettled weather will arrive on a few disturbances, or waves.

“These waves will drop into the forecast area on Thursday and Friday bringing isolated to scattered showers over the Columbia Basin and scattered to numerous showers over the orographically favorable Idaho Panhandle and northeast Washington mountains,” according to the weather service forecast discussion Wednesday afternoon.

With the main storm track south of the region, the air flow aloft will be cooler allowing for snowfall down to between 3,000 and 4,000 feet in elevation.

Forecasters are calling for a 50 percent chance of showers in Spokane on Thursday with a high in the low 50s.

Friday should be in the middle 50s with a 40 percent chance of showers.

Southwest winds should decrease from 14 mph on Thursday to 9 mph on Friday.

Lows both days should be in the upper 30s.

A more stable weather system of higher air pressure moves onshore later Friday, offering the chance for partly sunny skies on Saturday and highs in the upper 50s in Spokane.

Then, shower chances increase on Sunday and extend into early next week.

Forecasters said a drying trend is foreseen by the middle of next week.

The cool wet weather this spring has allowed much of the snowpack to stay above normal in the mountains.