992
FXUS66 KOTX 172141
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
241 PM PDT Thu Jul 17 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Gradual warming through Friday with high temperatures reaching
  above normal readings in the upper 80s and 90s.

- Dry conditions and gusty winds may result in critical fire
  weather conditions for portions of central and eastern
  Washington for Friday afternoon and evening.

- Cooling temperatures back into the 80s to low 90s this weekend
  with continued breezy winds.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Temperatures will gradually warm back up through the end of the
week. Highs will be above normal Thursday and Friday in the
upper 80s and 90s. Over the weekend temperatures cool back down
a few degrees into the 80s to low 90s with breezy west winds
across most of the region.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Tonight: Quiet weather is forecast, with a flat ridge building
in. Any lingering shower threat near the northern Idaho Canadian
border will wane, as will the cumulus build-ups around the
mountains, as the sun sets. Lingering breeziness will abate
early this evening, except it will linger a little bit longer
near the lee of the Cascades and Okanogan Valley until late
evening. Lows will be in the 50s to mid-60s.

...RED FLAG CONDITIONS FRIDAY...

Friday: A cold front will be pushing into the area by late in
the day. Highs will be in the 90s to near 100 on Friday. So
there is a moderate HeatRisk, with meaning those with heat
sensitivities or those without adequate hydration or cooling may
experience impacts. Clouds will increase from the west through
the afternoon and evening. It will also come with a chance of
precipitation. A lot of the models keep the main threat of
measurable precipitation across the Cascades and near the
Canadian border. However many of the models (NAN Nest, HRRR, and
various iterations of the HRW) bring a stretching band of
returns across the remainder of the CWA from west to east, early
Friday evening into the early overnight. The likelihood that
this will produce measurable precipitation is low. I did include
some sprinkles chances near the lee of the Cascades/Waterville
Plateau and later toward the central Panhandle to higher Palouse
to the Blues. Either way, some risk is there but it will not
amount to much.

Elevated fire weather concerns will be more notable feature
again Friday. Gradients tighten with the cold front approaching
and winds increase through the late morning and afternoon,
peaking with the passing front and its mixing in the evening
before winds start to subside overnight into early Saturday.
Afternoon RH values bottom out in the teens to low 20s. This
combo has prompted the Red Flag Warning from the Wenatchee Area
east across the Waterville Plateau, Columbia Basin into the
Spokane Area and Washington Palouse. Areas outside the Red Flag
Warning will still have gusty winds and low RH values too and
these will be monitored should they also threaten to have Red
Flag Conditions; that includes the Okanogan Valley. Winds will
be around 10-20 mph, up to near 25 mph or so around the
Waterville Plateau; gust will be between 20-40 mph with locally
higher gusts around the Waterville Plateau.

Saturday to Thursday: The Inland NW will remain under a more
troughy pattern. Temperatures will be cooler, relatively
speaking, sitting near to slightly below normal. Shower and
limited t-storm chances will be found near the Canadian border
Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Saturday will remain breezy, with
speeds of 10-20 mph and gusts of 25-30 mph. Minimum RH values
will a little higher, between the upper teens to 20s. So gusty
winds and dry conditions will remain and fire weather concerns
will still be monitored.

Between Sunday night into Tuesday a shortwave drops down the
coast and deepens a trough around the Cascades that track east.
This comes with some increased moisture and a broader potential
for showers and embedded t-storms. The best chances will be
found around the mountain zones and northern rim of the Columbia
Basin Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday looks like the overall best
potential. With all that said, the main potential for wetting
rains will be around the mountains; amounts elsewhere will be
more limited, if any. Wednesday and Thursday the trough
stretches and splits, leaving the areas drier with less cloud
cover. It will be occasionally breezy, but nothing too strong at
this point. Highs will be in the upper 70s and 80s through
Tuesday, with some areas near 90s in the deeper basin and L-C
Valley by Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday will be warmer with
highs in the upper 80s and 90s. /Solveig

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAFS: VFR conditions will continue through the 24 hr TAF
period. Clouds will start to increase later Friday from the
West. Winds will be gusty early this evening, subsiding into the
night. A cold front approaching the area later Friday will lead
to a threat of showers around the Cascades late. Wind will
increase between late morning into the afternoon, with gusts
near 20-40kt possible. Strongest winds will be near the Cascades
and Waterville Plateau, including EAT/MWH

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
that VFR conditions will continue at all TAF sites.

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane        60  92  61  84  57  83 /   0   0  10   0   0  10
Coeur d`Alene  58  91  61  84  56  81 /   0   0  10   0   0  10
Pullman        54  88  58  80  51  78 /   0   0  10   0   0   0
Lewiston       66  98  69  91  62  89 /   0   0  20   0   0   0
Colville       50  90  51  84  47  82 /   0  10  10  20  10  20
Sandpoint      53  87  58  79  51  79 /   0  10  10  10  10  10
Kellogg        62  88  64  79  58  78 /   0   0  10   0   0  10
Moses Lake     61  95  60  88  56  86 /   0   0  10   0   0   0
Wenatchee      68  95  64  87  62  88 /   0   0  10   0   0  10
Omak           61  95  59  89  58  88 /   0  10  20   0   0  10

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Red Flag Warning from 2 PM to 10 PM PDT Friday for Eastern
     Columbia Basin  -Palouse  -Spokane Area (Zone 708)-
     Foothills of Central Washington Cascades (Zone 705)-Lower
     Palouse  -Snake River (Zone 709)-Waterville Plateau (Zone
     706)-Western Columbia Basin (Zone 707).
ID...None.

&&

$$