The National Weather Service today has posted a fire weather watch for warm temperatures, low humidity and gusting winds on Sunday afternoon.
West wind gusts to 31 mph are expected in Spokane on Sunday with winds blowing to 35 mph across parts of the Columbia Basin, the Palouse and east slope valleys of the Cascades where the watch is in effect.
The winds may be strong enough to kick up dust storms and cause travel problems, especially on Interstate 90 in the Columbia Basin and U.S. Highways 95 and 195 in the Palouse.
The change arrives mainly on Sunday and is being brought by an approaching low pressure area from the Gulf of Alaska. The approaching low is going to reverse the warm weather trend expected to continue into Sunday.
Highs may reach the lower 90s Saturday, which could well be the last 90-degree-plus reading for the year.
The windy, dry weather Sunday afternoon will be conducive to rapid spread of wildfires, forecasters said.
Rain is likely next week as the low settles across the region. Some of the rain totals could be in excess of a half inch, forecasters said.
