SPOKANE, Wash. — Thursday was the the warmest day so far this year in the Inland Northwest. Many places, including Spokane and Coeur d’Alene, will see the first 70 degree high temp of the year. An incoming cold front will tap into that heat, sparking a round of evening and overnight thunderstorms.
There is enough energy in the atmosphere that some of the storms may become severe in Southeastern Washington and southern portions of the Idaho Panhandle. In anticipation of the potential severe weather, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) has issued a marginal risk for severe weather in the region. A 1 on the 0 to 5 scale for ranking a severe weather threat.
The convection (thunderstorms) will start Thursday afternoon in Oregon before tracking northeast into Washington and Idaho. The strongest storms will unfold from about 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will be centered in the darker green shaded area in the map above.
Those storms will likely bring some very heavy rain and potentially strong wind gusts and small hail. The wind will be more local, coming from outflow from the incoming storms. The line of convection will reach Spokane and Coeur d’Alene after dark and taper off overnight in the absence of daytime heating as the front moves east.
Friday will stay blustery. Wind gusts at about 35 miles per hour will usher in a cooler airmass that sticks around through the weekend. Temperatures will fall from the 70s to highs struggling to climb to near 60 degrees. In addition to the cooler weather, scattered showers linger through the weekend for much of the Inland Northwest.
Hang in there, warmer weather is in the forecast. The June outlook has temps much close to normal for the region. That means highs in the 70s will soon become the norm as summer returns.