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Welcome to the weekly weather briefing from the National Weather Service in Spokane. My
name is Greg Koch. This briefing covers the expected weather for the week of Monday
April 1st through Monday April 8th, 2013. Forecasts are subject to change so do not use
this presentation after 6 a.m. Tuesday April 2nd.
Here is the overview of the weather through the week. A continuation of the warm and
mainly dry weather is expected through Wednesday. Temperatures the last several days have been
well above average and that trend will continue through Wednesday. A weather pattern
change will arrive on Thursday bringing a good chance of rain to the region late in the day.
For Friday and Saturday, there is a good chance for showers. Thunderstorms may be a
possibility Friday afternoon and again Saturday afternoon. There is a good chance that
Friday and Saturday will be breezy as well. Sunday and Monday will be cooler with
temperatures falling back to near average for this time of year.
Our temperatures have been much warmer than average the last several days, and that trend
will continue through at least Wednesday. Today (Monday) will likely be the warmest day this
week, and should be the warmest day of the season so far for many areas in the Inland
Northwest. This graphic shows the forecast high temperatures for today and the departure from
average. So for Spokane, the forecast high temperature for Monday is 69 degrees which is
16 degrees above average.
The warm weather will continue through Wednesday or Thursday of this week. The solid red
line on this graph is the forecast high temperature for Spokane for the next 7 days. We
are looking for highs in the 60s through Thursday. The red dashed line is the average high
for this time of year which is in the mid 50s. Wetter and cooler weather will arrive the
end of the week. The green bars on the lower right hand part of the screen shows precipitation
chances Thursday through the weekend. Warm weather followed by a good chance of rain late in
the week will cause us to turn our attention to area rivers and streams. They will be rising
this week.
This map is an estimation of snow melt from Thursday through Sunday. The orange and red
colors on this map indicate as much as an inch to inch and a half of snow melt from Thursday
through Sunday over the mid elevations of the Idaho Panhandle as well as northeast
and north central Washington. The grey and white colors are the very high elevations which
have yet to experience much significant snow melt. This map suggests a good deal of melting
snow over the Coeur D’Alene River Basin and St Joe River Basin in the Idaho Panhandle.
The Grande Ronde River is fed by snow melt in the Blue Mountains of Oregon and SE
Washington, so the Grande Ronde is another river to watch.
These hydrographs show river forecasts for the next 7 days. The blue curves are the observed
river stage over the last few days, and the purple dotted traces are the river forecasts.
The Additional snowmelt through Thursday will lead to more rises on rivers. With the
rainfall expected Thursday through Saturday, the rivers are expected to rise further,
although with the accompanying cooler temperatures, there will be less snowmelt contributing to
the runoff. With the uncertainty of the location and amount of the heaviest rainfall
in these storms there is still uncertainty in the river forecast during the Thursday
through Saturday periods. The Grande Ronde River at Troy is forecast to rise to within 1.5
ft of flood stage and the Coeur d’Alene River at Cataldo is forecast to rise to within 3 ft
of flood stage. Check back daily for the latest river forecasts.
Based on the today’s weather and river forecast, the St Joe & St Maries River basins sill see
significant rises from snowmelt and rainfall this week. Check back daily for the latest river
forecasts.
So how does this season’s snow pack compare to average? This map shows the percent of
average Snow Water Equivalent (water trapped in mountains snow). High elevation snowpack
in the East Cascades and northern Idaho Panhandle is close to average. Eastern
Washington, the central Idaho Panhandle, and the Canadian portion of the Kootenai River
basin have a slightly below average snowpack. Compared to the last two high water years,
this season is much closer to normal.
The 8 to 14 day outlook from the Climate Prediction center is valid April 9th through April
15th. This outlook is good for the rivers. The outlook for next week is for at or below
average temperatures with near average chances of precipitation. If this forecast
verifies, we should see rivers recede next week.
In summary, our warm and mainly dry weather will continue through Wednesday. A wetter and
breezy weather pattern will arrive Thursday through Saturday. Our recent warm
weather followed by good chances for rain will bring rises to area rivers and
streams. We urge you to monitor river forecasts over the next several days since forecasts
are subject to change. Cooler weather is expected next week and should bring river levels
down.
If you would like to give us some feedback on our presentations. Send us an
e-mail.
Here is how you can stay informed and get the latest information from the National
Weather Service Spokane Forecast Office. Our forecasts and products are available on
our website weather.gov/spokane. Like us on Facebook, follow us on
Twitter, and subscribe to us on YouTube. And as always, you can listen to us on NOAA
Weather Radio. Thank you for tuning in for this weekly weather briefing. Please do
not use this information after 6 AM on Tuesday March 26.