Highs could reach low 80s by Friday

National Weather Service forecasters this afternoon have upped their forecast for warm weather this week. They are now saying that downtown Spokane could reach the lower 80s on Friday. The warm weather is not expected to extend beyond Friday as low pressure arrives from two directions. In the meantime, a large area of higher air pressure moves over the Inland Northwest starting today, bringing plenty of sunshine and a high near 64 in Spokane. The sunshine is expected to continue for several days with highs going to 73 on Wednesday, 78 on Thursday and 81 on Friday. Coeur d’Alene is going to be several degrees cooler than Spokane with highs going to the lower and middle 70s on Wednesday and Thursday and then 77 on Friday. Sandpoint should be a few degrees cooler than Coeur d’Alene. The Columbia Basin will be several degrees warmer than Spokane with the Tri-Cities getting three days of 80-degree weather on Wednesday through Friday. Even though Friday is likely to be the warmest day of the week, forecasters said the warmth will likely coincide with the arrival of clouds from a low pressure area expected to move in from the Pacific Ocean this weekend. In addition to an offshore low, forecasters said that a new polar vortex low is going to set up over Hudson Bay and may circulate cooler air into the region over the weekend. Clouds and breezy conditions are likely along with a 20 percent chance of showers on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Highs will drop back to around 60 over the weekend. Spokane International Airport, the city’s official weather measuring site, has not recorded a day of 70 degrees or warmer yet this spring. However, the airport saw a trace of snow on Sunday.