FXUS66 KOTX 152246 AFDOTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 346 PM PDT Wed Apr 15 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Morning lows near to below freezing through Friday. - Drier and more seasonal temperatures Friday and Saturday. - Increasing rain chances late Sunday into next week. && .SYNOPSIS... Isolated thunderstorm will taper off through the evening. Overnight lows will be cold with near to below freezing temperatures. Warmer and drier conditions return Friday into Saturday. Next round of showers expected for the start of next week. && .DISCUSSION... Tonight through Thursday: The region is on the backside of an exiting cold front. Drier air is moving into the region dropping precipitable water values to under a quarter of an inch or 50-60 percent of normal. The earlier afternoon, evening convection will decrease as the atmosphere stabilizes due to ridge pattern building in the region. Ensembles have shower activity continuing over the Northeast WA and North ID through Thursday. It is due to wrap around moisture from the exiting Low. Rain and rain/snow mix are possible with up to 30 percent chance of half an inch of snow. Impacts will be minimal as surface temperatures will limit to no accumulations. Winds will weaken overnight before increasing on Thursday. Wind gusts will be in the teens overnight and 20-30 mph Thursday afternoon. The lows will drop into the upper 20s and 30s into Thursday morning. Portions of the Columbia Basin have reached early growing season. Cold sensitive vegetation could be impacted. If winds remain breezy, it will lower the potential for frost/freeze impacts. Thursday highs will be in the upper 40s to low 60s. Friday and Saturday: Ridging pattern will bring a dry, warming trend for the period. Highs will climb back into the 60s and low 70s. Any precip chances are limited to the higher terrain of the Idaho Panhandle along the Montana Border. Amounts are less than a hundredth of an inch. Morning temps will still be in the 30s. Sunday through Wednesday: Weather pattern will change as a Gulf of Alaska Low is expected to move into the region. It is still tracking to move south along the Pacific Coast and into Northern California. The track keeps the regions warm, dry trend through Monday. Shower chances increase Tuesday into Wednesday as the Lows moisture finally moves into the Inland Northwest. A few ensemble members have the track moving the Low into Oregon and bringing the showers earlier. Highs will be in the upper 60s and 70s. Lows will be in the upper 30s and 40s. /JDC && .AVIATION... 00Z TAFS: Region is the on the backside of the exiting front. Trailing showers are impacting Northeast WA and North ID but not expected to impact TAF sites this evening. VFR conditions expected through 12Z. The main issue in the post frontal air mass will be gusty winds of 20-30kts. Overnight stratus will develop over Eastern WA and North ID possibly bringing another round of MVFR ceilings and increased precip chances for Thursday morning for GEG-SFF-COE-PUW-LWS. VFR conditions expected by 17Z. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Low to moderate confidence on the early morning MVFR stratus. High confidence on VFR conditions for Thursday afternoon. ----------------------- 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 29 51 30 54 32 61 / 20 30 0 0 0 0 Coeur d'Alene 29 47 29 52 30 59 / 30 50 10 0 0 0 Pullman 28 45 29 51 32 59 / 30 40 10 0 0 0 Lewiston 33 50 34 56 33 64 / 30 30 0 0 0 0 Colville 27 53 26 57 28 62 / 50 30 0 0 0 0 Sandpoint 29 45 28 50 29 57 / 60 70 20 20 0 0 Kellogg 27 41 28 47 29 56 / 50 80 30 30 0 0 Moses Lake 28 58 31 61 34 67 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 32 55 35 59 40 63 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 Omak 31 58 32 61 35 64 / 10 0 0 0 0 0 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...Freeze Warning from 2 AM to 8 AM PDT Thursday for Moses Lake Area-Upper Columbia Basin-Wenatchee Area. ID...Winter Weather Advisory until 5 AM PDT Thursday for Central Panhandle Mountains. && $$