638 FXUS66 KOTX 070014 AFDOTXArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 514 PM PDT Sat Sep 6 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Unsettled weather returning to the region over the weekend and into next week with increasing threat for showers and thunderstorms.
- Gusty outflow winds to 40 mph possible near thunderstorms Saturday evening and night.
- Temperatures trending cooler heading into this weekend and next week.
- Smoke and haze expected to continue through the weekend
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.SYNOPSIS... Smoke and haze is expected to continue over the weekend. The threat for showers and thunderstorms will increase this evening and into Sunday. Gusty outflow winds are possible near any thunderstorms. Additional rain chances will arrive next week with cooler temperatures.
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.DISCUSSION... Tonight through Sunday: The Low is tracking off the coast of southern Oregon and is pushing a shortwave through northern Oregon. The wave will continue to move north through tonight. It will begin to impact the Inland Northwest in the next couple of hours. It will bring light showers and isolated thunderstorms. Confidence is fairly low on which areas will be impacted by the thunderstorms. One concern are the winds ahead of the wave. Some models are showing winds sustained in the teens with gusts near 30 to 35 MPH. While the shower chances increase across the region, the amounts are not expected to be much for the most of the lowland locations with a few hundredths at most. It will hopefully bring better air quality as the rain and wind mix out the smoke.
Monday through Friday: The Low will slowly move South of the Inland Northwest through the period. It will continue to pump moisture and bring widespread shower chances through the Friday. Precip amounts range from a tenth or two for the lowlands and a quarter to 3 quarters of an inch for the higher terrains. Ensembles support isolated thunderstorm threat. With this pattern, temperatures will moderate to season normals. Highs will be in 70s and low 80s. Overnight lows will be in the 50s. /JDC
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.AVIATION... 00Z TAFS: Widespread visibility restrictions due to smoke will continue into Sunday. Visibility is expected to range from 2-6 miles for most of Central and Eastern Washington and north Idaho, but areas near fires including Colville will see visibilities as low as 1 mile. A disturbance will slowly lift south to north through the region overnight. High based showers with embedded thunderstorms. Any precipitation cores will have the potential to produce gusty outflow winds of 20-35 mph.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Low confidence in precise visibilities at the TAF sites from haze and smoke. There is moderate confidence for scattered thunderstorms 00-06z and beyond but low confidence in exact locations. For the heaviest precipitation cores, outflow winds to 40 mph possible. /sb
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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
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.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs... Spokane 89 63 86 58 82 55 / 0 20 20 20 10 50 Coeur d`Alene 86 63 86 59 83 57 / 0 20 20 20 10 40 Pullman 90 58 82 53 81 52 / 10 20 30 30 10 60 Lewiston 94 67 89 63 87 61 / 10 30 40 30 10 50 Colville 87 53 86 49 82 47 / 0 20 40 40 30 40 Sandpoint 86 58 83 54 80 52 / 0 20 30 30 20 40 Kellogg 87 63 84 60 82 57 / 0 20 30 40 10 40 Moses Lake 94 60 87 56 82 55 / 20 40 40 10 10 50 Wenatchee 95 67 85 62 81 61 / 30 40 50 20 10 60 Omak 90 65 88 60 83 59 / 10 30 40 30 20 40
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.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...Air Quality Alert until noon PDT Monday 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 4 PM this afternoon to 3 AM PDT Sunday for East Washington Central Cascades (Zone 696)-Foothills of Central Washington Cascades (Zone 705)-Waterville Plateau (Zone 706)-Western Columbia Basin (Zone 707). ID...Air Quality Alert until noon PDT Monday for Central Panhandle Mountains-Coeur d`Alene Area-Idaho Palouse-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties-Lewiston Area-Northern Panhandle.
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NWS OTX Office Area Forecast Discussion