Inland Northwest Hay Weather

Just a quick blog to update you on some rather chilly nights we will see the next few nights. Today (Friday) should be mostly sunny and mild. A good day to be outdoors, albeit a little breezy at times.  Saturday will start off chilly. Temperatures could below freezing in some spots. It won’t get very warm during the day. And it will feel even colder than the thermometer says. Much drier air will be moving into our area during the day. That will make the wind feel very cold. Add to that, clouds and showers will develop during the late morning and afternoon.  Our atmosphere will be unstable enough (coupled with the cold dry air) that I wouldn’t be surprised if a few showers have some graupel (snow pellets).  Here’s the European model forecast precipitation. It’s worth noting that the European model is one of the wetter forecasts. Other forecasts only have a few showers in the northern Panhandle.   The dry air that moves in on Saturday will allow the temperature to drop...

After a quick warm and dry spell, the rain will return tonight (Sunday night). Nothing really exciting, just a wet cool front. The rain should end by Monday morning, and after a short break, we will see afternoon showers.  Here’s what the National Blend of Models anticipates for rainfall totals. About 0.1” in the Basin, 0.2” in the northern valleys and Palouse, and maybe 0.3” in some spots.   Tuesday will start off dry, but afternoon showers are a sure bet. Wednesday will see a few afternoon showers over the northeast Washington area.  Thursday looks dry. Another weak front will bring us light rain Thursday night, with afternoon showers Friday through Sunday, mainly over northeast Washington. The other weather feature of note will be the wind.  Spring is typically a breezy time of year, and with each frontal passage this week comes some pretty gusty afternoons.  Here’s the ECMWF prediction for peak wind gust on Monday afternoon. 25 to 40 mph over much of the are...