Salmo Ski Area Snow Report

670 FXUS66 KOTX 100547 AFDOTX Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Spokane WA 1047 PM PDT Sun Aug 9 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Widespread smoke and haze will continue to impact the region. - Elevated fire conditions continue through the first part of the week with potential breezy winds down the Okanogan Valley. && .SYNOPSIS... Zonal flow aloft will allow for a shortwave to pass through the region tonight into Monday and will continue to promote elevated fire weather conditions along the Cascade gaps. Widespread smoke and haze will continue to impact the region over the next few days, especially in the vicinity of or downwind of regional wildfires. A quasi-zonal upper level pattern will continue through the first half of the week, bringing periods of breezy westerly winds and some slightly cooler temperatures to the region. A trough skirting by to the north may bring some precipitaiton chances to northern portions of the area by mid to late week. && .DISCUSSION... Monday and Tuesday: Zonal flow will continue through at least Tuesday, bringing near normal temperatures to the region and breezy winds to the Cascade gaps in the late afternoons and evenings. Localized smoke/haze may bring temperatures down a few degrees each day Fire conditions will remain elevated due to low RH and breezy winds, with winds increasing each afternoon and evening. Wednesday through Sunday: Confidence in the forecast decreases heading into the second half of the week as a broad shortwave trough sinks down from British Columbia. This system may bring the first chance of precipitation in a few weeks to northern areas near the Canadian border by Wednesday. While there is a 15-25% chance of showers, preciptiation continues to looks to remain rather weak with this system and may not provide any real wetting rains at this time. Additionally, there is a slight chance of (10-20%) of thunderstorms in northeast WA and northern ID both Wednesday and Thursday afternoon and evenings. Quasi- zonal flow will then briefly return on Friday as the trough to the north exits the area. Ensemble guidance remains indicative of an upper level trough developing along the coast over the weekend and bringing southwest flow aloft to the area. This could continue to raise further concerns for thunderstorms across the region by the weekend. && .AVIATION... 06Z TAFs: Smoke and haze from regional wildfires will continue to bring reduced visibilities and ceilings to the TAF sites at times. Latest guidance does seem to suggest improving smoke vsbys later this evening into the overnight, though lowered conditions will likely return Monday morning due to smoke/haze. FORECAST CONFIDENCE AND/OR ALTERNATE SCENARIOS: High confidence in smoke and haze continuing to impact the area terminals, but low confidence in extent of reduced vis/cigs. ----------------------- 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 55 86 55 86 55 86 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Coeur d`Alene 54 85 54 85 54 85 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pullman 49 83 48 83 48 83 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lewiston 59 91 59 91 61 90 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Colville 49 86 47 86 47 85 / 0 0 0 0 0 30 Sandpoint 52 83 50 83 50 81 / 0 0 0 0 0 10 Kellogg 53 82 53 82 53 82 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moses Lake 55 90 55 89 57 88 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wenatchee 63 89 63 90 64 88 / 0 0 0 0 0 10 Omak 59 91 58 89 61 87 / 0 0 0 0 0 10 && .OTX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WA...Air Quality Alert until 11 AM PDT Wednesday for Central Chelan County-Lower Garfield and Asotin Counties-Moses Lake Area- Northeast Blue Mountains-Northeast Mountains-Okanogan Highlands-Okanogan Valley-Spokane Area-Upper Columbia Basin-Washington Palouse-Waterville Plateau-Wenatchee Area-Western Chelan County-Western Okanogan County. ID...Air Quality Alert until 11 AM PDT Tuesday for Central Panhandle Mountains-Coeur d`Alene Area-Idaho Palouse- Northern Panhandle. Air Quality Alert until 3 PM PDT Monday for Lewis and Southern Nez Perce Counties-Lewiston Area. && $$