Weekend weather: Spring-like conditions continue over weekend

This week’s abrupt change to spring-like weather should continue through at least Monday and maybe Tuesday, bringing ample opportunity to get out and enjoy the early sunshine.

Highs could push into the upper 60s on Friday and Saturday before backing down to the lower 60s on Sunday and Monday.

Lows should go into the middle 40s.

Some clouds may cross the sky at times, and the National Weather Service said there is a remote chance of widely scattered showers on Saturday and Sunday.

Forecasters said the warmer weather should cause middle-elevation snow to start melting, increasing flows in smaller creeks fed by those slopes.

Larger streams and rivers are expected to stay well within their banks.

Higher air pressure along the West Coast earlier this week is moving onshore, cutting off the cool northerly flow that brought brisk winds on Tuesday.

Average temperatures in Spokane for this time of year are 53 for a high and 35 for a low.

The warmer weather is already bringing early-flowering plants to life, including forsythia, magnolia, apricot and cherry blossoms.

Still, there is plenty of snow in the mountains. April 1 is considered the date when peak snow levels are reached for the year on average.

On Monday, government agencies reported that the snowpack ranged from 96 percent to 137 percent across the region with the best snow packs found in areas of north-central Washington that were hit hard by wildfires last season.

Locales such as Republic, Wenatchee, Waterville, Stehekin and Winthrop had some of their best precipitation amounts ever recorded, dating back as far as 123 years.

The region also had a relatively warm winter under the influence of El Nino and the warming of the tropical Pacific.

Spokane was 3.5 degrees above normal for December, January and February combined. March has followed the trend at more than 2 degrees above normal.