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Nowcast

• 

• Now as of 3:50 PM PDT on May 24, 2013

  Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will continue to develop north of a line from Brewster to Nespelem to Fruitland to Sandpoint through the late afternoon hours. Thunderstorms will be slowing moving to the east and southeast between 5 and 10 mph. The stronger storms will bring brief heavy rain...small hail and cloud to ground lightning. The slow moving nature of these storms may yield heavy rainfall rates of between a quarter to a half an inch per hour.

Next 12 Hours

Forecast data from the National Digital Forecast Database.

5 Day Forecast

• Friday
• 
• High: 61 °
• Low: 37 °
• Chance of T-Storms

• Saturday
• 
• High: 61 °
• Low: 36 °
• Chance of Rain

• Sunday
• 
• High: 64 °
• Low: 41 °
• Chance of Rain

• Monday
• 
• High: 68 °
• Low: 46 °
• Chance of Rain

• Tuesday
• 
• High: 68 °
• Low: 45 °
• Chance of Rain

Area forecast discussion 
National Weather Service Spokane Washington 
438 PM PDT Fri may 24 2013 


Synopsis... 
cool and showery weather will continue through Saturday, then a 
subtle warming and drying trend is anticipated by Monday as the 
upper-level low moves out of the area. The break will be 
short lived as another cool, showery pattern returns around the 
middle of next week. 




&& 


Discussion... 
tonight and saturday: lots going on this afternoon. Mostly clear 
skies this morning across northern Washington and Idaho have given way to 
afternoon showers and thunderstorms. An upper level low is 
currently just south of Moses Lake. It brought a band of wrap around 
showers to central Washington earlier this morning and it has finally 
stretched and sheared apart as it trucked north towards Spokane. 
Behind this thicker band of clouds from the wrap around precip, 
cumulus clouds and subsequent showers have developed. Basically, 
there is a chance of showers just about everywhere late this 
afternoon and early this evening. You yourself may not get rained 
on, but if you were to look out you would see showers all around 
you. Isolated thunderstorms have developed in association with the 
showers with a chance of them just about everywhere, exactly like 
the showers. Models are showing showers and thunderstorms 
decreasing through the evening hours as the low shifts northeast 
into northwest Montana. Another low is developing off the 
northwest Washington coast and will shift into Washington Saturday. Showers are 
expected to develop again by afternoon...this time mainly north of 
Highway 2. Temperatures tonight and Sat will be predominately 
below average for this time of the year. Temperatures will be 
above freezing though tonight. The exception to this will be 
across the mountains in the north. /Nisbet 


Saturday night through Monday...the unsettled weather pattern will 
continue through the weekend...however the models are still having 
trouble fine tuning the small scale features. The upper level low 
will remain over the Pacific northwest and b.C. Through 
Monday...with a reinforcing secondary low dumb belling around the 
main low Saturday night and Sunday...and a much stronger trough 
coming off the Pacific Monday night and Tuesday. A new surge of 
moisture will be associated with each of these waves...but mostly 
around the periphery of the wave. With the cold core right over 
the forecast area there will be a chance of light showers just 
about anywhere...but I tried to time the best chances of 
precipitation with each incoming wave. Lingering showers will be 
possible Saturday night across the northern zones. The focus then 
shifts to the southeast and eastern zones for Sunday afternoon and 
again Monday afternoon where the models are showing the best 
instability and forcing. There may be a chance for isolated 
lightning strikes with the wave on Sunday in the vicinity of The 
Blues and the Camas Prairie. Temperatures will remain on the cool 
side of normal. /Tobin 




Monday night through Friday...somewhat cool and unsettled conditions 
will prevail throughout the extended forecast period while the 
region remains under an upper level trough. Model consensus is fair 
with latest run of the GFS/dgex/Gem showing similar solutions but 
the 12z European model (ecmwf) takes the upper low on a different course of evolution. 
Rather than the agreed on solution of a negatively tilted trough 
extending northwest to southeast over the forecast area, the ec splits the flow 
and drops a closed low into the Great Basin. This would lower the 
chance of precipitation over our northeast zones, which is precisely 
where the other models bring the focus for higher pops. I trended 
the northeast down slightly, but for the most part, pops remain 
above climo, with temperatures on the cool side of normal. I did 
introduce a slight chance of thunder for portions of the Idaho zones 
on Tuesday as the trough axis moves inland. Any significant changes 
will wait for better consensus. /Kelch 


&& 


Aviation... 
00z tafs: energy moving around a low pressure center will allow 
scattered showers to continue this evening, with a chance of 
thunderstorms. Expect primarily VFR conditions but local MVFR or 
IFR cigs are possible with passing showers. The threat of showers 
will wane after dark. Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms 
will develop again Saturday afternoon but confidence in location 
of showers is too low to put in tafs. /Ek 








&& 


Preliminary point temps/pops... 
Spokane 42 63 44 65 46 68 / 40 20 10 20 10 30 
Coeur D'Alene 42 63 42 65 43 67 / 50 20 20 30 10 40 
Pullman 38 64 43 63 43 67 / 20 10 10 30 30 20 
Lewiston 43 71 48 70 49 74 / 20 10 10 30 40 20 
Colville 40 67 41 72 43 72 / 60 40 30 20 10 40 
Sandpoint 41 63 39 66 41 66 / 60 30 20 20 10 40 
Kellogg 41 61 44 63 45 65 / 60 40 20 30 20 40 
Moses Lake 45 72 46 73 48 74 / 20 10 0 10 10 10 
Wenatchee 48 68 47 70 50 71 / 20 10 10 10 10 10 
Omak 40 68 41 71 44 72 / 40 30 20 10 10 20 


&& 


Otx watches/warnings/advisories... 
Idaho...none. 
Washington...none. 
&& 


$$