900
FXUS66 KOTX 060938
AFDOTX
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA
238 AM PDT THU AUG 6 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- WIDESPREAD SMOKE IMPACTS WILL CONTINUE AREA WIDE, MAINTAINING
UNHEALTHY AIR QUALITY.
- TEMPERATURES CONTINUE TO RISE WITH HIGHS ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH
FRIDAY. BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL BE THE WARMEST DAYS THIS
WEEK. SMOKE COULD IMPACT HIGH TEMPERATURES KEEPING IT COOLER
THAN EXPECTED WHERE SMOKE IS THICKEST.
- DRY WEATHER PERSISTS BOTH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH INCREASING
WINDS. STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
WASHINGTON, BUT ENCOMPASS MOST OF EASTERN WASHINGTON BY
SATURDAY. THIS WILL BRING ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER
CONDITIONS.
- TEMPERATURES DROP BACK TOWARD NORMAL THIS WEEKEND INTO EARLY
NEXT WEEK.
SYNOPSIS
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL PERSIST OVER THE AREA THROUGH FRIDAY
WITH VERY WARM AND DRY CONDITIONS. WILDFIRE SMOKE WILL MAINTAIN
DEGRADED AIR QUALITY ACROSS THE AREA. THE SMOKE WILL BE THICK
ENOUGH IN SOME AREAS TO LOWER HIGH TEMPERATURES BY A FEW TO
SEVERAL DEGREES. BREEZY WINDS ACROSS THE AREA FRIDAY INTO THE
WEEKEND WILL LEAD TO INCREASED FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS, NOTABLY
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. TEMPERATURES RETURN CLOSER TO NORMAL FOR
THE START OF NEXT WEEK WITH MORE/LESS ZONAL FLOW ALOFT.
DISCUSSION
THURSDAY: BROAD RIDGE PATTERN WILL KEEP DRY, WARM CONDITIONS
OVER THE REGION FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT,
DIURNAL DRIVEN WITH STRONGEST WINDS ALONG THE EAST SIDE OF THE
CASCADES. WIND GUSTS WILL BE IN THE TEENS FOR THE AREA. FOR
TEMPERATURES, HIGHS WILL CLIMB INTO THE 90S WITH HUMIDITY IN THE
TEENS AND BRIEF PERIODS SINGLE DIGITS ACROSS THE BASIN.
WILDFIRE SMOKE WILL PLAY A BIG PART ON THE HIGHS. IT HAS BEEN
CAUSING THE PREVIOUS FEW DAYS HIGHS TO RUN COOLER THAN THE
MODELS. OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE IN THE 50S TO LOW 60S.
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY: THE RIDGE AXIS SHIFTS EAST AND WEAKENS AND
BRINGS A ZONAL FLOW PATTERN. WINDS WILL INCREASE AS WARM DRY
CONDITIONS CONTINUE. WINDS WILL BE WEST WITH SUSTAINED SPEEDS IN
THE TEENS AND GUSTS INTO THE 20 TO 30 MPH RANGE. THE STRONGEST
WINDS ARE MOST LIKELY TO REMAIN CONFINED TO PORTIONS OF CENTRAL
WASHINGTON INCLUDING THE EAST CASCADE VALLEYS AND THE WATERVILLE
PLATEAU. THERE IS AROUND A 40-70% CHANCE OF WIND GUSTS UP TO
30-35 MPH IN THOSE LOCATIONS IN CENTRAL WA FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY. ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE FROM AUGUST 1 IS THE LACK OF
STRONG LOW LEVEL WINDS. 850-700MB WINDS ARE ONLY REACHING INTO
THE 10-20 MPH RANGE COMPARED TO THE 30-40 MPH FROM AUGUST 1. IT
IS STILL AN ELEVATED TO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER PERIOD DUE TO THE
CONTINUED HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS WITH THE BREEZY WINDS. FIRE
WEATHER WATCHES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR BREEZY WESTERLY WINDS AND
LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY BOTH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. HIGHS WILL BE IN
THE UPPER 80S AND 90S WITH HUMIDITY IN THE TEENS TO LOW 20S.
OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL BE IN THE 50S TO LOW 60S. MINIMUM RELATIVE
HUMIDITY WILL REACH THE 10-25% RANGE WITH LIMITED RECOVERY
OVERNIGHT.
SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY: COOLER AIR MASS WILL FILTER INTO THE
REGION. WINDS WILL REMAIN DIURNALLY DRIVEN WITH THE POTENTIAL
FOR SOME LOCALLY BREEZY WINDS THROUGH THE CASCADE GAPS.THERE IS
STILL NO DECENT CHANCE OF OF PRECIP EXPECTED ON FOR THE PERIOD.
HIGHS WILL DIP INTO THE 80S. LOWS WILL BE IN THE UPPER 40S AND
50S. /JDC
AVIATION
06Z TAFS: WILDFIRE SMOKE WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE PRIMARY IMPACT
TO AVIATION ACROSS THE AREA THROUGHOUT THE TAF PERIOD.
VISIBILITIES AT MOST TERMINALS TONIGHT ARE VFR OR MVFR (3 TO 5
SM). MORE WIDESPREAD MVFR, OR LOCALIZED IFR, VISIBILITIES ARE
EXPECTED OVERNIGHT, ESPECIALLY FOR AREAS NORTH OF MOSES LAKE TO
OMAK/SURROUNDINGS AREAS. NO CLOUDS ARE IN THE FORECAST BUT
THICKER SMOKE IN THE 3000 TO 6000 FEET MSL LAYER WILL CREATE
CEILINGS AT TIMES. VISIBILITIES IN SMOKE WILL FLUCTUATE WITH
DETERIORATION POSSIBLE AGAIN LATE TONIGHT/THURSDAY MORNING.
WINDS WILL REMAIN RELATIVE LIGHT THROUGH MUCH OF THE TAF PERIOD
(GENERALLY UNDER 10 MPH).
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: HIGH CONFIDENCE
IN WINDS GENERALLY 10 KT OR LESS FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. HIGH
CONFIDENCE FOR SMOKE CREATING IMPACTS WITH REDUCED VISIBILITY.
MODERATE CONFIDENCE IN PERIODS OF CEILINGS DUE TO THICKER
SMOKE. -CC
-----------------------
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 93 55 94 59 92 60 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
COEUR D'ALENE 92 55 93 57 91 58 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
PULLMAN 91 51 92 52 89 53 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
LEWISTON 99 60 100 61 98 64 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
COLVILLE 94 50 95 51 93 53 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
SANDPOINT 90 52 92 54 90 55 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
KELLOGG 89 55 91 56 87 57 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
MOSES LAKE 95 57 97 57 95 59 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
WENATCHEE 96 65 97 65 95 66 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
OMAK 95 60 97 60 95 62 / 0 0 0 0 0 0
OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
WA...AIR QUALITY ALERT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR ADAMS, ASOTIN,
CHELAN, DOUGLAS, FERRY, GARFIELD, GRANT, LINCOLN, OKANOGAN,
PEND OREILLE, SPOKANE, STEVENS, AND WHITMAN COUNTIES.
FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY
EVENING FOR COLVILLE RESERVATION (ZONE 702)-EASTERN COLUMBIA
BASIN -PALOUSE -SPOKANE AREA (ZONE 708)- FOOTHILLS OF
NORTHEAST WASHINGTON (ZONE 701)-WESTERN COLUMBIA BASIN
ZONE 707).
ID...AIR QUALITY ALERT UNTIL 4 PM PDT FRIDAY FOR CENTRAL PANHANDLE
MOUNTAINS-COEUR D'ALENE AREA-IDAHO PALOUSE-LEWIS AND
SOUTHERN NEZ PERCE COUNTIES-LEWISTON AREA-NORTHERN
PANHANDLE.
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