FXUS66 KOTX 240601 AFDOTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 1101 PM PDT Sun Aug 23 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Warming and drying trend Monday and Tuesday - Minor to moderate heatrisk Tuesday and Wednesday with highs in the 90s. - Breezy winds Wednesday into Thursday with elevated fire weather conditions. && .SYNOPSIS... Temperatures warm Monday into Tuesday with afternoon highs in the 90s by Tuesday. The heat begins to break down Wednesday into Thursday with an increasing risk for breezy winds and mountain thunderstorms. && .DISCUSSION... Today and Wednesday: A ridge will build into the region along the Continental Divide while a trough digs in off the coast. A similar pattern will be setting up from this past weekend. The ridge will be in place for a couple of days leading to dry, warm pattern. Highs will climb back into the 90s. Moderate HeatRisk will return for most lowland locations on Tuesday and Wednesday. As the trough begins to press into the region, a weak band of instability will slide through the Lower Idaho Panhandle and bring a less than 10% chance for showers and isolated thunderstorm on Tuesday night. Late Wednesday and Thursday: The trough begin to push into the region on Wednesday and slowly track East. Ensembles have weak instability over the Cascades, northern mountains, and the Idaho Panhandle. Precipitable water amounts are 0.75-0.9 of an inch. Winds will increase through the Okanogan Valley and Waterville Plateau with gusts in the 20-30 mph range. Wednesday highs will be in the 90s before dropping into the 80s on Thursday. Friday through Sunday: The trough will struggle to displace the ridge over Central US. Ensembles have the trough pattern stalled over the region through the weekend. Drier air will push into the region as precipitable water values drop to around half an inch. While meaningful amount of rain is not expected, the trough will drop highs back into the upper 70s and 80s through the end of the week. /JDC && .AVIATION... 06Z TAFs: Dry, stable condtions will bring VFR conditions for the period. Winds will slowly shift toward the north and northeast for KMWH, KGEG, KCOE, KPUW overnight. High clouds will filter in from the south in the late morning to early afternoon. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: Main uncertainty and potential for forecast updates will be smoke into KEAT driving down visibility below 6SM. This comes with lower confidence given the elevated winds in place. ----------------------- 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 53 86 55 95 59 92 / 0 0 0 0 0 10 Coeur d'Alene 53 86 55 95 60 93 / 0 0 0 0 10 10 Pullman 46 86 49 94 53 90 / 0 0 0 0 0 10 Lewiston 56 91 60 99 65 96 / 0 0 0 0 10 10 Colville 43 85 45 92 49 93 / 0 0 0 0 10 10 Sandpoint 46 82 50 91 55 92 / 0 0 0 0 10 20 Kellogg 51 84 53 92 57 92 / 0 0 0 0 10 20 Moses Lake 54 89 56 95 57 93 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 61 88 64 94 67 93 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Omak 53 87 58 94 61 94 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...Air Quality Alert until 2 PM PDT Monday for Central Chelan County-Okanogan Highlands-Okanogan Valley-Upper Columbia Basin-Waterville Plateau-Wenatchee Area-Western Chelan County-Western Okanogan County. ID...None. && $$