FXUS66 KOTX 152329 AFDOTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 429 PM PDT Thu Oct 15 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Mostly dry weather pattern through middle of next week. - A cold front on Saturday will bring breezy to locally windy conditions and the potential for patchy blowing dust. && .SYNOPSIS... Dry conditions and light winds remain in the forecast through the end of the workweek with a ridge of high pressure positioned over the region. Temperatures trend warmer, peaking in the mid 60s to mid 70s on Friday. On Saturday breezy to windy conditions will occur, before lighter winds and seasonal temperatures to follow Sunday into the middle of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Thursday night through Saturday: Upper-level ridging strengthens over the Inland Northwest Thursday night into Friday. This will keep weather dry with temperatures warming on Friday into the mid 60s to mid 70s. Changes in the pattern arrive Saturday as a quick moving cold front moves through the Pacific Northwest. Moisture will be rather limited with this front, with nearly all of the precipitation falling west of and at the Cascade crest. There is a small chance for very light rain or sprinkles across northeast Washington with the front, but amounts will be negligible. The primary hazard with this front will be the winds as the PDX-GPI pressure gradient increases to +9-13mb and 850mb winds increase to around 25 to 35 mph. This will support sustained winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts 25 to 40 mph across the lee of the Cascades, the Columbia Basin, the Spokane/CdA area and the Washington and Idaho Palouse late Saturday morning through the afternoon. The National Blend of Models (NBM) probabilities supports this south a widespread 50% or greater for wind gusts greater than 30 MPH across the aforementioned areas, with an 80% chance or greater across the Waterville Plateau and the upper Columbia Basin. A lack of precipitation in recent weeks across the Columbia Basin, patchy blowing dust will be a concern along with choppy lakes, crosswinds, and airborne Halloween decorations that are not tied down. Sunday through Wednesday: Quiet weather returns for Sunday with temperatures cooling by 3-7 degrees and much lighter winds. Deterministic and ensemble guidance continue to depict an upper- level trough digging along the west coast early next week, with the base digging into a closed low over California. This evolution will leave the Pacific Northwest under subtle ridging before the upper-level low gets picked back up into the main flow later in the week. Aside from low precipitation chances (10 to 15%) across the Cascade crest Monday night, shifting to the Blue Mountains and central Idaho Panhandle mountains on Tuesday, dry and cool conditions will persist through Wednesday. /vmt && .AVIATION... 00Z TAFS: High pressure over the region will promote VFR conditions. Strengthening high pressure in the lee of the Rockies in NW Montana will lead to predominately easterly flow with the strongest winds at KPUW 13-19z. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence for 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 37 71 44 64 36 60 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coeur d'Alene 38 69 42 64 37 60 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pullman 40 70 44 65 36 61 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lewiston 39 73 43 72 41 64 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colville33 69 36 67 30 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sandpoint 36 66 39 62 35 59 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kellogg 38 69 42 63 35 60 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moses Lake 38 70 39 68 32 63 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 45 69 49 67 40 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Omak 41 68 43 68 38 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...None. ID...None. && $$