Weather

Hurricane Milton strengthened Monday into a Category 5 storm hitting 160 mph sustained winds and forecast to intensify further on its way to an expected landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

MOSCOW, Idaho – The 75-acre wildfire burning 2 miles northeast of Moscow was 50% contained as of Saturday night.

Odds are back up that a system developing in the Gulf of Mexico could become a tropical depression or storm before it makes its way to Florida next week, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The National Hurricane Center lowered its prediction the season’s next tropical depression or storm would form in the Gulf of Mexico, but Florida is likely to get heavy rain next week whether it develops or not.

As Hurricane Kirk gained strength and Tropical Depression Thirteen formed Wednesday but were no threat to land in the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center was keeping track of system that could develop in the Gulf of Mexico and turn toward Florida.

Spokane-area residents breathed the healthiest air this past summer since 2016.

Rescue and recovery crews searched for victims of the devastating storm Helene for a fifth day on Tuesday, trying to reopen roads into the mountain towns of the southern Appalachians isolated by historic flash flooding.

After battering Florida as a Category 4 hurricane Thursday, Helene dumped historic rainfall on Georgia, the Carolinas and other states, spurring flash flooding and leaving scores of people confirmed dead, with others still missing. The highest death toll was in North Carolina, where flooding wiped out whole communities. Residents there and across vast areas of the Southeast were without water, power, and phone and internet communication. Rescues continued Sunday as the flood started to recede.

Winds whipped through Spokane on Sunday, carrying dust, red flag wildfire warnings and loss of power for thousands across the region.

A dust storm that rolled into Spokane on Wednesday afternoon knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses and caused a fire along a busy South Hill road during the evening commute.

Hurricane Helene strengthened as it entered the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday with the National Hurricane Center forecasting the storm to continue to intensify and strike Florida as a major Category 4 hurricane.

Tropical Storm Helene formed Tuesday morning in the Caribbean, and the National Hurricane Center forecasts it to move north and strike Florida as a major Category 3 hurricane on Thursday night.

A high-pressure system is expected to carry unseasonably warm weather to the Inland Northwest early this week, peaking with gusty winds Wednesday before returning to average fall temperatures Thursday.

Spokane just notched its third-hottest summer in recorded history. This ranking means the city’s three most-scorching summers occurred in the past nine years – 2021, 2015 and now, 2024.

As Spokane winds down from its 5th hottest summer on record with an average daily high of 84.7 degrees Fahrenheit, locals can expect lower temperatures and light showers for the rest of the week.

This weekend will likely be the last stretch of days above 90 degrees this year, according to the National Weather Service in Spokane.

Showers, hail and thunder could be coming your way this Labor Day as meteorologists eye a late summer storm brewing over the region.

The National Hurricane Center is now tracking two Atlantic systems with a chance to develop into the season’s next tropical depression or storm.