Thursday will be a hot, muggy spring day with late afternoon and evening storms that could bring damaging winds and large hail.
Plan Your Thursday
Thursday brings very warm temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s, our hottest day of the year thus far. Humidity will be about as high as it gets for our area, so people working outside should be cautious. You’ll get hot and tired more easily in the humid weather.
Strong to potentially severe thunderstorms develop late Thursday afternoon and evening. Storms begin to fire around the Blue Mountains and will track northwest across the region through midnight. Most of our area will see storm activity between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.
These storms may produce damaging wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph, large hail, and heavy downpours with localized flooding. In the Columbia Basin, blowing dust could significantly reduce visibility on roads like Interstate 90 before the rain arrives. Lightning could start new wildfires in the Columbia Basin and other areas that didn’t get much rain on Monday or Tuesday. Hail could reach up to the size of ping pong balls in the strongest storms (about 1.5″ across).
What We’re Tracking
Friday remains active with gusty winds up to 40 mph in the Columbia Basin and up to 30 mph around Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Showers and thunderstorms emerge again on Friday over the Northern Washington mountains and the Idaho Panhandle.
A drying and cooling trend begins Saturday. Temperatures will be noticeably cooler this weekend, with highs dropping into the 60s and 70s through Monday.
Extended Forecast
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