Weather: Spring arrives early with record temperatures

Unseasonably mild weather is going to bring another spring-like weekend to the Inland Northwest and potentially record warm temperatures on Friday and Saturday, forecasters said.

While that should be good news for lowland outdoor activities, it will mean a continuation of the snowpack trouble facing winter sports in the mountains.

Today’s weather should be mild and dry for mid-February and cloudy with a high near 50.

A ridge of Pacific high pressure has settled over the region following the “atmospheric river” that drenched the Northwest and drove streams up and over their banks in recent days.

New daily records could be set Friday and Saturday as highs climb to the middle 50s in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene with a mix of sun and clouds. That follows the three-day stretch of daily record highs last Friday through Sunday.

Precipitation chances this weekend are minimal.

There’s a slight chance of rain on Saturday night before the sunshine returns on Sunday with a high in Spokane near 50.

In the mountains, temperatures should be mostly above freezing with daytime highs in the 40s to near 50. Snow shower chances return to the mountains starting Sunday night.

A cooling trend appears likely early next week as the Pacific ridge moves westward in response to an arctic air invasion across the heart of the U.S. That should set up a more northerly flow here. Lows by Monday night may drop to the middle 20s.

The Spokane River was flowing at 18,300 cubic feet per second near Cochran Street in Spokane on Wednesday and is still rising as Lake Coeur d’Alene slowly discharges the high runoff that started last week. Average flow for Feb. 11 is 5,200 cfs.

Latah Creek crested above 2,000 cfs on Tuesday in Spokane and was flowing at 1,660 cfs on Wednesday.