Princeton, Idaho Weather Forecast Discussion

014
FXUS66 KOTX 192036
AFDOTX
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
136 PM PDT Fri Sep 19 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Warm and dry through Saturday with breezy winds Saturday
  afternoon.
- Sunday cold front to deliver cooler temperatures, windy
  conditions, and chances for light showers.
&&
.SYNOPSIS...
Dry, warm, and breezy conditions will prevail Saturday with
elevated fire weather conditions across portions of the region.
A cold front brings cooler temperatures, chances for showers,
and gusty winds on Sunday. Chilly overnight lows expected Sunday
night and Monday night. Temperatures warm again under a ridge of
high pressure Tuesday and Wednesday.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Friday night into Saturday: Clear skies and light winds will persist
Friday evening and overnight under a ridge of high pressure with low
temperatures dropping into the upper 40s to upper 50s by early
Saturday morning. Saturday will be our last day of temperatures
in the 80s before a cooldown with a trough approaching from off
of the Pacific. Southwesterly pre-frontal winds start to pick
up Saturday afternoon mixing dry air down to the surface and
dropping humidities into the teens. With the combination of
breezy winds and low humidities, elevated fire weather
conditions are expected for portions of the Okanogan Valley,
upper Columbia Basin, and Spokane area Saturday afternoon and
evening.
Sunday: Heading into Sunday, the upper level trough will move inland
over British Columbia sending a cold front swinging through the
Pacific and Inland Northwest. With the cold front will come a band
of moisture bringing chances for showers. Highest chances remain
focused over the Cascade Crest, northern mountains, and ID
Panhandle, but latest model runs have trended slightly higher with
PoPs for the rest of the region suggesting that lowland areas may
not stay entirely dry as previous runs were indicating. Amounts will
generally be light with 0.10-0.20 inches of precip expected for the
mountains and less than 0.05 inches for lowlands. In addition to
chances for showers, winds will increase further on Sunday with the
NBMv5.0 giving a 60 percent chance of gusts exceeding 40 mph over
the Waterville Plateau and along the east slopes of the Cascades.
The NBM 50th percentile has been consistently showing gusts near 35
mph for much of the Columbia Basin and Eastern WA including
Wenatchee, Ephrata, Moses Lake, Spokane, Pullman, and Lewiston over
the past few model runs. With winter wheat in the process of being
planted, blowing dust will be something to look out for. As far as
temperatures, Sunday will be cooler with high temperatures only
rising into the upper 60s to mid 70s, and dry air moving in behind
the cold front will allow overnight lows to get quite chilly as well
Sunday night into Monday. For some of the region`s colder spots
including Republic, Deer Park, Colville, and Winthrop, lows are
expected to fall into the 30s for the first time this season.
Monday through Wednesday: Cooler temperatures will be short-lived
with strong model consensus on a ridge of high pressure building
back in over the area through the first half of next week bringing a
return of warmer and drier conditions. According to the NBM, high
temperatures will rise into the upper 70s to mid 80s again by
Tuesday and Wednesday, around 10 degrees above normal for late
September. Beyond Wednesday, considerable uncertainty remains, but
the general trend shows weakening of the ridge to some degree so I
think it`s a safe bet to expect some degree of cooling by the end of
next week. With our daylight hours rapidly getting shorter it gets
harder and harder to sustain those summer-like temperatures.
/Fewkes
&&
.AVIATION...
18Z TAFS: High pressure will build over the Inland Northwest
today with VFR conditions continuing through the TAF period.
Winds will be light and terrain driven.
FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
in VFR conditions for TAF sites through the forecast period.
-----------------------
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:/weather.gov/otx/avndashboard
&&
.Preliminary Point Temps/PoPs...
Spokane        54  85  56  69  44  70 /   0   0   0  40  20   0
Coeur d`Alene  56  86  55  69  46  70 /   0   0   0  30  30   0
Pullman        53  82  54  67  42  68 /   0   0  10  30  20   0
Lewiston       61  89  61  75  50  75 /   0   0  10  20  20   0
Colville       44  85  44  68  34  71 /   0   0   0  70  20   0
Sandpoint      49  82  49  67  42  68 /   0   0   0  50  50   0
Kellogg        59  83  56  67  47  68 /   0   0   0  40  40   0
Moses Lake     52  87  55  73  42  73 /   0   0   0  50   0   0
Wenatchee      61  87  60  72  48  73 /   0   0  10  60   0   0
Omak           54  88  55  75  44  74 /   0   0  10  50   0   0
&&
.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...None.
ID...None.
&&
$$

NWS OTX Office Area Forecast Discussion