Wildfire in Idaho, June 16 to 23, 2026

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
137 PM PDT Tue Jun 16 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Strong westerly winds will continue through Tuesday evening
  with warm, dry, and gusty conditions bringing critical fire
  weather conditions. Winds will blow around unsecured objects,
  create strong cross winds and possibly result in blowing dust
  creating hazardous travel conditions.

- Warm temperatures and remaining dry through the rest of the
  work week.

- A passing weather system for the weekend will bring another
  round of breezy winds to Central Washington on Saturday.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Windy and dry conditions will result in critical fire weather
conditions through Tuesday evening over much of Central and
Eastern Washington. Strong cross winds, patchy bowing dust, and
isolated tree damage will also be possible with winds as well.
Dry and warm conditions will occur Wednesday through Friday
before a weather system over the weekend brings breezy winds to
Central Washington.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

...STRONG DRY COLD FRONT PASSAGE THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING...

Tonight through Wednesday: A dry cold front will continue to
lead to critical fire weather conditions through the evening.
In addition a mid level dry slot associated with an upper level
trough passage, combined with a deep mixed layer will allow for
dry air to mix down into the valleys with relative humidity
bottoming out into the teens and low 20s through the early
evening. Strong west winds will persist through the evening as
well due to the persistence of a tight pressure gradient
(Portland to Kalispell was at 15.6 mb at noon) along with mixing
associated with the cold front. Sustained winds ranging from
20-35 mph with gusts of 40-50 MPH across the Columbia Basin has
the potential to kick up patchy blowing dust as well. Confidence
remains low regarding the coverage and degree of visibility
restrictions with any dust that develops. Following the frontal
passage, pressure gradients will gradually ease during the mid
to late evening hours through Wednesday morning resulting in
decreasing winds. Although it will remain locally breezy into
Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday through Tuesday: A dry west- northwest flow remains
over the area Thursday and Friday, before another trough slides
into British Columbia on Saturday. This trough will bring
enhanced winds to Central Washington on Saturday as it enhances
the cross-Cascade pressure gradient leading to breezy conditions
and elevated fire weather conditions. This trough will drop
temperatures slightly over the weekend. After this trough
passes a flat upper ridge moves in for Monday and Tuesday.

Temperatures are forecast to remain above normal over the next
7 days. The warmest days are expected on Friday and Tuesday with
high temperatures in the mid 80s to mid 90s leading to moderate
HeatRisk for the East Slope of the Cascade valleys, Columbia
Basin, and Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. JW

&&

.AVIATION...
18Z TAFs: A strong cold front sweeps through today. Westerly
winds will increase through the morning and peak in the
afternoon. A strong surface gradient will support sustained wind
speeds of around 25 kts with gusts up to around 40 kts in the
lee of the Cascades and across the Columbia Basin including all
TAF sites. There's potential for patchy blowing dust over the
Columbia Basin into the Palouse region with winds today. This
may result in reduced visibility at KMWH and potentially into
the Spokane Area (KGEG/SFF) and on the Palouse (KPUW), but any
blowing dust may also be very localized and have little if any
impact at airport terminals. Little moisture will accompany the
front will just a few wave clouds over the mountains. Winds will
relax this evening.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence
in VFR conditions. The one caveat is if blowing dust or any
large wildfires develop. Either of these factors could result in
localized visibility restrictions. JW

-----------------------

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        54  81  52  84  54  87 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Coeur d'Alene  52  79  52  82  55  86 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Pullman        50  76  49  81  51  86 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Lewiston       57  84  55  88  59  94 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Colville       49  81  48  84  50  88 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Sandpoint      51  77  49  81  51  85 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Kellogg        51  76  51  80  53  86 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Moses Lake     52  86  53  88  57  93 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Wenatchee      58  83  57  87  63  91 /   0   0   0   0   0   0
Omak           53  83  55  87  58  90 /   0   0   0   0   0   0

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Lower Garfield
     and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake Area-Spokane Area-Upper
     Columbia Basin-Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau-
     Wenatchee Area.

     Red Flag Warning until 11 PM PDT this evening for Colville
     Reservation (Zone 702)-Eastern Columbia Basin  -Palouse  -
     Spokane Area (Zone 708)-Foothills of Central Washington
     Cascades (Zone 705)-Lower Palouse  -Snake River (Zone
     709)-Methow Valley (Zone 704)-Okanogan Valley (Zone 703)-
     Waterville Plateau (Zone 706)-Western Columbia Basin
     (Zone 707).

ID...Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for Idaho Palouse.

&&