Summer weather only gets warmer

The heart of summer keeps pace today with highs in the lower 80s. Sunny skies are expected after this morning’s clouds clear away. Even warmer temperatures are expected over the weekend and into next week with highs in the upper 80s on Saturday and lower 90s on Sunday. The Inland Northwest is in a calm area between the northern storm track in Canada and a low-pressure area off the coast of Oregon and Northern California. Clouds this morning are coming from the lower air pressure in Canada. By the weekend, a monster high-pressure area centered over the desert Southwest will begin to heat things up in this region.The summer weather pattern should continue well into next week, with highs staying in the upper 80s to lower 90s through Thursday. Lows will be in the middle and upper 50s, which will help ripen tomatoes and other garden vegetables. So far this summer, the high has reached 90 degrees three times and 91 only once. Typically, the region sees 16 or more days of heat in the 90s or warmer. The dry weather in recent weeks has raised fire danger. A wildfire near Leavenworth forced closure of U.S. Highway 2 in the Tumwater Canyon area, but firefighters today were making progress against the 200-acre blaze. Here at 7 a.m., it was 60 degrees at Spokane International Airport, 57 at Felts Field, 54 in Coeur d’Alene and 58 in Deer Park.