Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Spokane, WA
Issued by NWS Spokane, WA
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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). && $$