758 
fxus66 kotx 050650 
afdotx 


Area forecast discussion 
National Weather Service Spokane Washington 
1050 PM PST Friday Jan 4 2008 


Synopsis... 
a stormy pattern will be over the inland inland northwest through 
the weekend. While snow will generally be confined to the higher 
elevations through Saturday...wintry conditions will likely return 
to the valleys with snow levels crashing by Sunday. 




&& 


Discussion... 
rest of tonight...moist baroclinic band has all but exited the County Warning Area 
this evening and now only lingered over the extreme eastern 
portion of the Idaho Panhandle. Thus the threat of widespread 
precipitation has generally ended for the night. Now we will 
rapidly transition to a cooler and unsettled pattern as the mean 
trough axis slides eastward overnight. 500 mb temperatures will plunge 
anywhere from 7-9c overnight...resulting in strong destabilization 
due to slower cooling in the lower atmosphere. Thus we suspect the 
threat of showers will continue for all locations...however with 
no significant shortwave troughs expected over our County Warning Area through early 
morning...the coverage will likely be tied to orographic ascent. 
Since the prevailing flow through the 850-700 mb layer will remain 
out of the south...the northern tier of mountains will remain the 
favored area for showers. Despite the potential for numerous 
showers overnight...the snowfall will likely not be widespread 
enough to necessitate the continuation of the winter headlines 
over the northern mountains. Additional accumulations will be 
rather localized and tied to southward facing slopes. 


Also we updated to end the Wind Advisory for the Camas Prairie. 
The latest surface analysis suggests the pressure gradients in 
that area are not nearly as strong as they were earlier in the 
day. Meanwhile...the nam12 suggests winds at 925 and 850 mbs have 
weakened quite a bit below where they were earlier as well. 


&& 


Aviation... 
VFR conditions are expected to prevail at all taf sites through at 
least 18z Sat. The exception will be at eat...as any semblance of 
a west wind will likely result in local fog developing right near 
the Airport and possible IFR/LIFR visibilities. The good news is winds have 
turned strongly to the east over the past hour resulting in 
significant warming and clearing. Not confident this will last as 
the surface low...currently off Vancouver Island pushes eastward 
overnight...turning the pressure gradients increasingly onshore. 
The other threat for most of the taf sites tomorrow after 18z will 
be possible snow showers due to daytime destabilization. The 
largest threat will impact Coe...geg...and sff. MVFR ceilings could 
result from these showers as well as reduced visibilities. The 
threat will likely east after 02z. Fx 


&& 


Preliminary point temps/pops... 
Spokane 36 37 27 33 22 29 / 50 30 30 30 20 50 
Coeur D'Alene 36 39 27 33 23 30 / 60 40 40 30 20 50 
Pullman 37 39 29 34 25 31 / 30 30 30 30 20 50 
Lewiston 41 46 33 38 30 36 / 20 20 20 30 10 40 
Colville 35 38 27 32 22 30 / 90 60 40 30 20 50 
Sandpoint 33 37 27 32 23 30 / 90 60 60 40 30 50 
Kellogg 32 35 27 31 23 30 / 90 60 50 40 30 50 
Moses Lake 34 43 24 34 20 32 / 20 20 20 20 30 20 
Wenatchee 29 34 25 31 21 31 / 30 30 20 20 30 20 
Omak 32 33 24 30 17 28 / 70 50 20 20 30 20 


&& 


Otx watches/warnings/advisories... 
Idaho...none. 
Washington...none. 
&& 


$$