763 FXUS66 KOTX 301737 AFDOTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 937 AM PST Tue Dec 30 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Dry conditions through Thursday afternoon. - Active pattern begins with potential for lowland wintry mix Thursday night into Friday. && .SYNOPSIS... Temperatures return to above normal and dry conditions continue through Thursday. A more active winter weather pattern returns heading into 2026. && .DISCUSSION... Tuesday through Thursday afternoon: Conditions stay dry through Thursday afternoon as a strong ridge in the Pacific Northwest meanders east. Temperatures climb back above normal by Tuesday with afternoon highs ranging from the 30s to low 40s. Air stagnation concerns increase through mid week under light winds and low mixing heights. Thus, an Air Stagnation Advisory is in effect over portions of North and North Central Idaho and North Central, Northeast, and Southeast Washington through noon Thursday. Thursday evening through Tuesday: By Thursday the ridge axis shifts east in Montana opening the door for unsettled conditions. Ensembles are in generally good agreement that PWATs will increase from south to north to 160-200% of normal by Thursday evening. Recent trends are for a slower arrival for precip into Thursday night. Precipitation amounts do not look overly impressive through late this week with weak synoptic forcing. There is still significant uncertainty for precipitation type in the valleys but a period of wintry mix Friday morning seems plausible before changing to rain. The best chances for lowland snow will be in the east slopes of the Cascades and near the Canadian border where the temperature profile is near or slightly below freezing in the low levels. Temperatures warm aloft significantly Friday afternoon into Saturday changing any remaining areas of lowland snow to rain. Light snow in the mountains will continue into early next week especially the Cascades. There is a 45% chance of 8+" of snow at Stevens Pass from Friday to Monday. Chances for 8+" of snow at Lookout Pass Friday to Monday are much lower at 10%. Unsettled conditions continue into next week as ensembles are in good agreement of troughing in the eastern Pacific. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAFs: An upper-level ridge will remain in place over the Pacific Northwest through the forecast period. This will bring continued VFR conditions with passing mid and high level clouds. Exception is for a few pockets of IFR stratus during the overnight and morning hours, mainly over the North Idaho Panhandle around Priest Lake, Lake Pend Oreille, possibly impacting KCOE again Wednesday morning. Winds will remain mostly light across the area except at KPUW and KCOE where east winds 8-14 knots are expected. .FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence for VFR conditions, except KCOE where there is low to moderate confidence of IFR conditions developing again Wednesday morning. 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 35 23 35 24 36 31 / 0 0 0 0 10 50 Coeur d'Alene 36 23 38 24 38 31 / 0 0 0 0 10 50 Pullman 38 27 39 27 38 33 / 0 0 0 0 20 60 Lewiston 40 29 40 31 41 37 / 0 0 0 0 10 40 Colville 34 21 36 21 36 28 / 0 0 0 0 10 50 Sandpoint 35 24 37 24 37 30 / 0 0 0 0 10 50 Kellogg 39 29 42 28 41 34 / 0 0 0 0 20 50 Moses Lake 37 22 35 23 34 28 / 0 0 0 0 10 30 Wenatchee 34 25 34 25 35 30 / 0 0 0 0 10 30 Omak 34 24 36 25 36 29 / 0 0 0 0 0 20 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...Air Stagnation Advisory until noon PST Thursday for Central Chelan County-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties- Northeast Mountains-Okanogan Highlands-Okanogan Valley- Spokane Area-Wenatchee Area-Western Chelan County-Western Okanogan County. ID...Air Stagnation Advisory until noon PST Thursday for Central Panhandle Mountains-Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties- Lewiston Area. && $$