Weather service drops air advisory

The National Weather Service in Spokane on Tuesday dropped a stagnant air advisory that had been in effect across the Inland Northwest since Friday.

Highs at midafternoon rose into the upper 50s in Coeur d’Alene and Liberty Lake and the mid-50s elsewhere across the region.

Air quality readings showed moderate pollution was continuing in Spokane and Stevens counties in advance of a cold front, which is expected to scour out a low-lying temperature inversion that had caused the stagnant air.

Spokane was the 12th-worst location in the United States for smoke pollution Tuesday, according to AirNow.gov.

Air quality in Coeur d’Alene improved for the second day in a row Tuesday. The readings there were in the good range both days.

In Stevens County, a stage 2 ban on indoor burning remains in effect through 10 a.m. today as pollution remained in the lower atmosphere. A stage 2 ban applies to all indoor wood burning except in homes that use wood as their sole source of heat. Even certified stoves and fireplaces must be shut down under a stage 2 ban.

Environmental officials in Coeur d’Alene had asked residents to voluntarily stop burning indoors.

Today’s warm temperatures were 15 to 18 degrees above the normal of 39 in Spokane, but well short of the record 65 degrees for the day in 1897.

Colder daytime temperatures are expected for the rest of the week with highs in the upper 40s and lows in the mid-30s. Rain is forecast for Thursday with a chance of snow above 3,000 feet.