198
FXUS66 KOTX 102359
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
459 PM PDT Wed Jul 10 2024

.SYNOPSIS...
Today will be the last day of near-record heat. Slightly cooler
temperatures will arrive tomorrow and will stick around for the
next seven days. Breezy afternoon winds will occur daily. A thin
layer of haze will blanket skies across Eastern WA and Northern ID
due to smoke from several fires across the Inland Northwest.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

...LAST DAY OF NEAR-RECORD HEAT TODAY...
...INCREASED FIRE WEATHER DANGER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

Key messages:

- Red Flag Warnings continue for parts of the region through this
  evening.
- Temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees cooler tomorrow and will
  stay cooler for the next seven days.
- No precipitation is in sight.

Rest of today: We`ve made it to the second and final day of near-
record heat! Temperatures are sitting above 100F for many
locations and will continue to rise into the early evening. The
passage of a dry cold front will keep winds breezy for the Cascade
foothills, Waterville Plateau, and Western Columbia Basin through
tonight with sustained speeds of 15 to 20 mph and gusts up to 35
mph. In addition to breezy winds, the cold front will bring in
very dry air behind it. With this combination of extremely warm
temperatures, gusty winds, and low relative humidity values, any
new or existing fires could spread rapidly. Thus there are Red
Flag Warnings in effect through 11PM tonight.

Tonight through next Tuesday: Hot and dry conditions will persist
over the next seven days, though the heat won`t be quite as
extreme after today. High temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees
cooler starting tomorrow, putting most locations in the 90s. The
deeper Columbia Basin, Okanogan Valley, and L-C Valley may still
see a few thermometer readings at or just over 100F. Low
temperatures will be noticeably cooler as well, dropping back into
the 50s and 60s tonight onward. Breezy winds will recur each
afternoon.

With warm temperatures and high mixing heights sticking around for
the foreseeable future, the Pioneer Fire south of Stehekin and
several other large fires in Oregon and California will continue
to generate large amounts of smoke. This will likely result in
poor air quality for the Lake Chelan area and hazy skies
regionwide. Each night, the smoke will settle in the lake basin
and drift down toward Manson. During the day, the smoke will shift
back toward the north end of the lake. There is a chance the smoke
will seep over into the Methow Valley as well. The latest air
quality readings and smoke outlooks can be found at
fire.airnow.gov. /Fewkes

&&

.AVIATION...

00Z TAFS: VFR conditions will prevail. Local reductions in
visibility possible near and downwind of Lake Chelan due to smoke
from the Pioneer Fire. Locally breezy/gusty westerly winds
expected into tonight, particularly at KEAT and KMWH.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence in
VFR conditions.

-----------------------

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        64  95  61  96  62  97 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Coeur d`Alene  62  92  60  93  60  95 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Pullman        60  90  58  93  60  93 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Lewiston       71 100  67 103  69 105 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Colville       55  95  54  95  55  95 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Sandpoint      59  90  55  91  55  92 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Kellogg        67  90  65  92  65  92 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Moses Lake     61  99  60  99  61 100 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      67  97  66 100  69  99 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Omak           64 100  65 101  65 103 /   0   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ID...Heat Advisory until 10 PM PDT this evening for Central Panhandle
     Mountains-Northern Panhandle.

     Excessive Heat Warning until 10 PM PDT this evening for Coeur
     d`Alene Area-Idaho Palouse-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce
     Counties-Lewiston Area.

WA...Heat Advisory until 10 PM PDT this evening for Northeast
     Mountains-Okanogan Highlands-Western Chelan County.

     Excessive Heat Warning until 10 PM PDT this evening for Central
     Chelan County-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake
     Area-Northeast Blue Mountains-Okanogan Valley-Spokane Area-
     Upper Columbia Basin-Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau-
     Wenatchee Area-Western Okanogan County.

     Red Flag Warning until 11 PM PDT this evening for East Portion
     of North Cascades National Park/Lake Chelan National
     Recreation Area (Zone 697)-East Washington Central Cascades
     (Zone 696)-Foothills of Central Washington Cascades (Zone
     705)-Methow Valley (Zone 704)-Okanogan Valley (Zone 703)-
     Waterville Plateau (Zone 706)-Western Columbia Basin (Zone
     707).

&&

$$