Fire danger returns on Thursday, Friday

A frontal system out of Canada is going to bring gusty winds and low humidity through Friday before temperatures warm back up over the weekend.

A cold front that moved south from Saskatchewan and Alberta is expected to create a high fire danger both days.

The greatest fire danger on Thursday will be in the Okanogan region, the Columbia Basin and other parts of central Washington.

North winds of 20 to 25 mph could be accompanied by gusts as high as 40 mph on Thursday with plenty of sunshine.

In North Idaho, the winds will be the strongest from Sandpoint to Coeur d’Alene where gusts could reach 24 mph.

Spokane could see sustained winds of 17 mph with gusts to 20 mph.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday posted a fire weather watch for all of central Washington, including the western Columbia Basin.

The chance of lightning-sparked fires will be limited because the Canadian air mass is so dry.

However, the higher wind gusts could whip up a dust storm near U.S. Highway 2 and Interstate 90 in the Columbia Basin.

“The desiccated grassy fine fuels inhabiting the basin are basically organic gasoline just waiting for a spark,” a weather service forecaster said in an online discussion on Wednesday.

The winds will ease over central Washington and the Okanogan region on Friday, but intensify down the Purcell Trench of North Idaho.

After a run of highs in the 90s, temperatures should fall back to the 80s on Thursday through Saturday before reaching the lower 90s again on Sunday in Spokane.

Coeur d’Alene will see highs in the middle 80s through Saturday with the exception of Friday, when the high might only reach the upper 70s. A high in the upper 80s is expected on Sunday.

Another frontal system may arrive over the region on Sunday evening, causing highs to drop back into the low 80s early next week in Spokane.