153
FXUS66 KOTX 170024
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
524 PM PDT Thu Oct 16 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Light mountain precipitation on Friday. Dry and breezy winds
  for the lee of the Cascades and Columbia Basin Friday
  afternoon.

- Widespread lowland rain, mountain snow Saturday evening
  through Sunday. Widespread breezy winds Sunday.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Dry weather with seasonable daytime temperatures are expected
through Thursday with cold overnight lows. A weak front Thursday
night into Friday will bring light precipitation to the
mountains, with dry and breezy winds for the lee of the
Cascades and Columbia Basin Friday afternoon. A stronger system
Saturday into Sunday will bring widespread lowland rain,
mountain snow, and widespread breezy winds.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Tonight through Friday: A weak trough is beginning to press
into the Pacific Northwest. It is bringing increasing mid to
upper level clouds. The Cascades are currently seeing the
increasing clouds. The rest of the Inland Northwest will see the
clouds increasing overnight. Lows will be in the upper 20s and
30s and keeping the threat of widespread frost across the
region. By Friday afternoon, the trough will begin to push into
the Inland Northwest. Impacts from the wave will mainly be light
mountain showers as precipitable water values are around a
quarter of inch. Snow levels will above 4900ft, keeping snow
confined to mainly the higher peaks of the Cascades and Idaho
Panhandle. Rain or a rain snow mix is expected for these areas
below 4900ft. Winds will increase along the Cascades with gusts
near 30 mph possible. Highs will be in the 50s to low 60s.

Saturday and Sunday: By Saturday morning, a brief ridge pattern
will be in place over the region as a robust Low begins to
press into the Pacific Northwest. The Low will support a decent
plume of moisture pushing into the Inland Northwest and bring
widespread showers. Precipitable water values will increase to
0.75-1.0 through Sunday. Snow levels will range from
4500-5000ft. Ensembles have increased the snow amounts for the
Cascade Mountain passes. It can bring travel issues to Stevens
and Washington Passes with a 60-70% probability of 24 hour snow
total of 4 inches through Sunday. The lower elevations of
Washington can expect rain ranging from 0.10-0.40. Idaho
Panhandle amounts range from 0.70-1.00. Winds will increase
across the Basin with the system passage with gusts peaking
around 35 mph on Sunday. Highs will continue to 50s to low 60s.
Overnight lows will trend warmer with the increasing clouds
decreasing the radiative cooling efficiency. Lows will be in the
upper 30s and 40s.

Start of Next Week: Ensembles continue the pattern of a brief
ridge following an exiting system with another trough following
shortly. While there is good agreement on the ridging, agreement
on the trough is very low on the timing and strength. Early
indications are showing it to be mainly a western Washington
event. Highs will continue to be in the 50s and low 60s. Lows
will drop back to the upper 20s and 30s. /JDC

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAFS: VFR conditions with light winds expected at TAF
sites. Mid and high level clouds will continue to spread over
the area. Winds will increase in the inland northwest Friday
morning with a cold front passage.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
in VFR conditions at the TAF sites.

-----------------------
Confidence descriptors:
Low - Less than a 30 percent chance
Moderate - 30 to 70 percent chance
High - Greater than a 70 percent chance

For additional probabilistic information for NWS Spokane
airports, please refer to the Aviation Dashboard on our webpage:
https:/weather.gov/otx/avndashboard

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane        38  60  32  56  42  55 /   0   0   0  10  80  70
Coeur d`Alene  37  58  32  54  42  53 /   0  20  10  10  90  80
Pullman        35  58  30  57  41  53 /   0  10   0   0  80  90
Lewiston       42  65  38  62  48  60 /   0   0   0   0  60  90
Colville       24  58  22  52  31  53 /   0  10   0  20  90  70
Sandpoint      32  56  28  51  37  50 /   0  30  10  20 100  90
Kellogg        39  54  34  55  44  49 /   0  40  20  10  90  90
Moses Lake     37  65  29  57  41  61 /   0   0   0  10  60  30
Wenatchee      44  62  37  56  44  57 /   0  10   0  10  80  40
Omak           38  62  33  54  39  58 /   0   0   0  10  70  30

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...None.
ID...None.

&&

$$