Moscow, Idaho 7 Day Weather Forecast

Wx Forecast - Wx Discussion - Wx Aviation

096
FXUS66 KOTX 112255
AFDOTX

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Spokane WA
355 PM PDT Sat Apr 11 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Showers and afternoon thunderstorms this weekend.

- Light to moderate rains Sunday evening into Monday morning for
  North Idaho and southeastern Washington.

- A robust cold front to deliver valley rain, mountain snow,
  and gusty winds Tuesday into Wednesday.

&&

.SYNOPSIS...
Chances for showers and afternoon thunderstorms continue this
evening into Sunday. Areas of moderate rain will develop Sunday
night and continue into Monday for the Idaho Panhandle and
southeastern WA. A cold front passage Tuesday afternoon into
Wednesday will bring additional light rain in the lowlands,
mountain snow, and breezy to windy conditions.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Tonight - Sunday: A broad upper-level trough currently off the N CA
coast will migrate inland well south of our region but continue
to influence the weather pattern over the INW. The INW is
currently in the warm sector of this feature pumping moisture
and weaker impulses through. The first impulse responsible for
the showers over northern WA and Idaho this afternoon will
continue to drift northward. Satellite is revealing ample breaks
in the clouds which is helping to destabilize the airmass and
will result in a threat for hit or miss showers and t-storms
heading into Sunday evening. Majority of the convection will be
low-topped with heavy downpours and lightning as the main
hazards. A combination of better dynamics and instability
setting up over far SE WA and the lower Idaho Panhandle today
and early evening which could support a few stronger t-storms
capable of wind gusts around 35 mph, small hail, and scattered
lightning. Locations like Anatone, Lewiston, Winchester, and
Kamiah are of most concern but will be monitoring to see if this
activity can drift as far north as Pullman, Moscow, and Deary.
The threat for these stronger cells will mainly be before 7PM
with most t-storm activity waning and out of the area by 9PM.

As we head into Sunday/Sunday night, the offshore low will begin
its eastward drift through southern Oregon/Northern California
and into the Great Basin. Sunday will start off dry across the
region. However, a theta-e axis of warmer/moist air wrapping
around the northern periphery of the low will get hung up over
North Idaho and Northern WA. Heating on Sunday will help
destabilize the air mass with popcorn showers and isolated
t-storms developing. The amount of morning cloud cover will
determine coverage and intensity of this convection. Given very
little shear, the main concerns will be brief downpours before
convection collapses and redevelops in the next spot.
Precipitation will become more organized into a band Sunday
evening and night as the low drifts into the Great Basin. This
is likely to result in steady light to moderate rains for much
of North Idaho and southeastern WA. HREF probabilities for 0.50"
or more rainfall from Dayton to Pullman to Kellogg vary from
50-90%. Even Lewiston has a 60% chance for 0.50" or more.
Sandpoint, Spokane, and Ritzville will be on the northern
periphery of this wrap around rain band with 20-40% chance for
receiving 0.50". This is looking like a soaker for southern
Shoshone County into the WA Palouse with 10th percentile
rainfall amounts from 0.40-1.10" and 90th percentile from
1.5-2.0". This will lead to rises on creeks and streams across
the Idaho Panhandle and Palouse. Flooding is not expected but
will need to be monitored.

Monday-Wednesday: The aforementioned low tracking south of the
region weakens and drifts to the east. West to northwest flow
develops in the midlevels ahead of yet another deep low
barreling toward the Pac NW Coastline. There will be enough
shallow instability on Monday to keep a mention of showers for
Idaho and eastern third of WA; any additional precipitation will
be light. The incoming system will usher a stronger cold front
toward the Northwest on Tuesday and through the the region
Tuesday night into Wednesday. The front will come through with
modest westerly flow focusing the heaviest precipitation over
the Cascade Crest and Idaho Panhandle with strong rain shadowing
across Central WA.

One of the impacts from the incoming system will be stronger winds.
Winds will be breezy on Monday ahead of the front generally
coming from the southwest. There is a 60-80% chance for gusts of
at least 30 mph in the foothills of the Blue Mountains and
through the Cascade gaps on the Waterville Plateau. These
probabilities expand into the Okanogan Valley, Columbia Basin,
Palouse, and ridgelines of northern WA and N Idaho on Tuesday.
Windy conditions will continue into Wednesday with cold air
advection flooding into the region though probabilities for wind
gusts greater than 30 mph decrease some toward 20-40%.

Another impact from the incoming system will be lowering snow
levels and moderate to heavy snow in the mountains. Snow
amounts from Tuesday morning through Wednesday night are
expected to be on order of 6-12 inches for Lookout Stevens, and
Washington Passes. Similar amounts are forecast for the higher
ridgelines of the Blue Mountains and Selkirks. If you have plans
to recreate into the backcountry, be prepared much colder
temperatures and snow.

Drier continental air will settle into the region Thursday and
linger into the early weekend. This will equate to more
seasonal temperatures and an abundance of sunshine with cool
morning lows. /sb

&&

.AVIATION...
00Z TAFS: Areas of showers will continue across the upper Basin,
northern mountains and Idaho Panhandle through 02-03z.
Instability is decreasing which is resulting in a decreasing
lightning trend for all locations except south of Winchester,
ID. The next band of showers and t-storms pivoting northward
from Central OR is not expected to survive upon reaching WA.
This will result in decreasing clouds and showers through the
evening and overnight. Would not rule out patchy fog in the
valleys of NE WA and N ID where over a quarter of an inch of
rain fell. On Sunday, surface heating will result in developing
cumulus fields. A band of organized rain will pivot toward KLWS-
KPUW after 20z and KCOE-KGEG-KSFF closer to 23-00z. If the cloud
shield is discrete, there is a 20% chance that convective
showers and t-storms develop on the northern periphery of this
band impacting these areas. Otherwise, KLWS-KPUW-KMLP should
expect steady rains and MVFR to IFR conditons after 00z Monday.

FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS:
Low confidence for new cells to mature into thunderstorms
between 00-02z and all TAFS were adjusted to showers but
lightning chances remain 10-15% until sunset. Biggest
uncertainty on Sunday evening will be how far northwest the
incoming band of steady rain pivots toward KGEG-KCOE. Some
models keep these sites dry, others very wet. The pre rain
convection adds a degree of uncertainty and potential lightning
threat. /sb

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

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        41  65  44  57  36  50 /  20  40  60  60  10  20
Coeur d`Alene  43  65  44  54  37  49 /  30  40  70  70  30  40
Pullman        41  61  42  50  35  50 /  20  80  80  70  20  20
Lewiston       44  63  46  56  40  58 /  30  80  80  60  10  10
Colville       40  68  41  65  35  52 /  60  40  40  50  20  50
Sandpoint      43  63  43  53  37  47 /  60  40  60  80  50  60
Kellogg        42  63  43  49  37  46 /  30  60  80  90  50  70
Moses Lake     40  68  45  67  37  58 /  10  30  30  20   0   0
Wenatchee      44  67  48  62  41  56 /  10  20  20  10   0  10
Omak           43  69  45  68  39  57 /  30  20  20  10   0  20

&&

.OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WA...None.
ID...None.

&&

$$