Warming trend brings back the sun

A warming trend starts today and should continue through Saturday with highs getting into the 90s by Thursday, forecasters said. Monday’s damp weather was cool enough for Spokane to set a record for the coldest high temperature for the day at 63 degrees at Spokane International Airport. That beat out the previous cool high for July 13 of 64 degrees in 1913. Rainfall at the airport measured about a quarter of an inch from Sunday evening through Monday evening, but other spots in the region saw higher rainfall amounts. Pullman had .63 inches of rain for the two days. Coeur d’Alene Airport had .68 inches. The wet weather across the region is going to give firefighters a temporary break in the pending summer fire season, said John Livingston, chief meteorologist of the National Weather Service in Spokane. The storms should keep forest fuels damp for up to 10 days, he said. High pressure has moved across the region from the west and should strengthen as the week wears on, forecasters said. Highs are expected to reach the low 80s in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene today and then rise to the upper 80s Wednesday and the 90s on Thursday through Saturday. By Sunday, temperatures are expected to moderate back to the middle 80s. The region is approaching its climatologically warmest period of the year with an average high today in Spokane of 83 degrees and a low of 55 at night. Temperatures at 7 a.m. were 52 at the airport, 51 in Cheney, 53 in Pullman and 55 in Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint.