261
FXUS66 KOTX 240825
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
125 AM PDT Fri Jul 24 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Critical fire weather conditions Friday and Saturday afternoons
due to winds and low relative humidity. Any new or ongoing wildfires
will be capable of spreading rapidly.

- Stable, cooler, and calmer conditions expected Sunday into next
week.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Wildfire smoke continues to bring hazy skies and may keep high
temperatures cooler than currently forecasted. Low relative humidity
and gusty winds Friday and especially Saturday will result in
critical fire weather conditions. Temperatures will cool into
the 80s by Sunday and will stay there into early next week
before gradually warming again.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

Friday and Saturday: A deepening trough along the West Coast
will track inland Friday into Saturday, sending a dry cold front
across the region and bringing a period of widespread windy
conditions. Strong winds in combination with hot and dry
conditions will result in critical fire weather concerns Friday
and Saturday afternoons. For Friday, winds will be focused
through the Cascade gaps, up the Okanogan Valley, and across the
Western Columbia basin with sustained speeds of 10 to 15 mph
and gusts to 25 mph. Saturday is looking like the more
concerning day with stronger, more widespread winds. For
Saturday, there will be a substantial jump in wind speeds and
gusts regionwide with the highest wind speeds across the
Columbia Basin. Sustained speeds across the region will range
from 15 to 25 mph with gusts of 30 to 40 mph. For most areas,
afternoon humidity values will continue to fall into the teens
Friday and Saturday. Any new or existing fires will be capable
of very rapid fire spread. Smoke models depict higher
concentrations of smoke moving out of the region over the next
couple of days, but that is dependent on the activity of any new
and ongoing fires. For temperatures, Friday will mark the
beginning of a cooling trend with highs running 2 to 4 degrees
cooler than on Thursday, but it will still be quite warm in the
mid 90s to just over 100 degrees. Expect more noticeable cooling
on Saturday with temperatures dropping another 7 to 10 degrees,
putting us back near seasonal normals for late July in the
upper 80s to low 90s.

Sunday through Wednesday: Ensembles generally agree that the
next shortwave trough will move onshore on Sunday, bringing
another 5 to 7 degrees of cooling, continued breezy winds, and a
chance for light preciptiation along the Cascade crest. Onshore
flow into western Washington will continue through the first
half of next week with diurnal cross-Cascade pressure gradients
bringing breezy afternoon winds across the Inland Northwest.
Highs will be in the 80s to low 90s, and overnight lows will be
in the 50s to low 60s. /Fewkes

&&

.AVIATION...
12Z TAFS: Expect mostly VFR conditions over the next 24 hours.
Regional wildfire smoke will occasionally bring MVFR conditions,
especially across the northern valleys of WA and ID. Some
periods of MVFR conditions from smoke are possible Friday
morning near KGEG/KSFF/KCOE and a bit longer KPUW and KLWS.
Winds will increase through the afternoon and early evening,
before subsiding; gusts of 15-25 kts are possible.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Moderate
confidence in the visibility forecast 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:/www.weather.gov/otx/avndashboard

&&

.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane        97  63  90  59  85  57 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Coeur d`Alene  96  64  90  60  84  58 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Pullman        93  57  87  52  82  52 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Lewiston      102  68  96  63  91  62 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Colville       95  57  90  54  85  51 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Sandpoint      93  63  89  58  82  56 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Kellogg        92  60  87  57  81  55 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Moses Lake     98  63  91  57  88  57 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      98  68  90  62  87  63 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Omak           99  64  92  57  88  58 /   0   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Fire Weather Watch from Saturday morning through Saturday
     evening for Colville Reservation (Zone 702)-Eastern
     Columbia Basin  -Palouse  -Spokane Area (Zone 708)-
     Foothills of Central Washington Cascades (Zone 705)-
     Foothills of Northeast Washington (Zone 701)-Lower
     Palouse  -Snake River (Zone 709)-Methow Valley (Zone 704)-
     Okanogan Highlands and Kettle Mountains (Zone 699)-
     Okanogan Valley (Zone 703)-Selkirk Mountains of Northeast
     Washington (Zone 700)-Waterville Plateau (Zone 706)-
     Western Columbia Basin (Zone 707).
     Heat Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening for Lower Garfield
     and Asotin Counties.
     Air Quality Alert until 11 AM PDT this morning for Central
     Chelan County-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties-Moses
     Lake Area-Northeast Blue Mountains-Northeast Mountains-
     Okanogan Highlands-Okanogan Valley-Spokane Area-Upper
     Columbia Basin-Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau-
     Wenatchee Area-Western Chelan County-Western Okanogan
     County.
     Red Flag Warning from 11 AM this morning to 11 PM PDT this
     evening for Colville Reservation (Zone 702)-Foothills of
     Central Washington Cascades (Zone 705)-Okanogan Valley
     (Zone 703)-Waterville Plateau (Zone 706).
ID...Fire Weather Watch from Saturday morning through Saturday
     evening for Northern and Central Idaho Panhandle (Zone
     101).
     Heat Advisory until 9 PM PDT this evening for Lewiston Area.

&&

$$