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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Next big heat wave arrives next week

Wes Fritsch pulls on his wet shirt after soaking it in the spray at the Thornton Murphy Park splash pad, July 28, 2017, in Spokane, Wash. Fritsch stopped at the water feature to cool off after riding his bicycle from a convenience store to buy a cold sports drink. Temperatures reached into the 90s on Friday with even hotter days expected in the coming weekend. (Dan Pelle / The Spokesman-Review)
By Mike Prager mikeprager15@gmail.com(509) 459-5454

Hold on. More extreme heat is on the way.

“It’s going to get hot, I can tell you that,” said forecaster Bryce Williams of the National Weather Service.

“Thursday looks to be the hottest day of (next) week,” he said.

A strong mass of very high air pressure is expected to move into the region, pumping heat from the desert Southwest starting on Monday.

Highs this weekend are expected to be 94 on Saturday and Sunday in downtown Spokane before the real heat arrives.

The forecast for the downtown area calls for 98 on Tuesday, 100 on Wednesday, 102 on Thursday and 100 on Friday.

Coeur d’Alene gets a bit of a break in the hottest temperatures with 94 on Tuesday, 93 on Wednesday, 98 on Thursday and 92 on Friday.

Weather service forecasters said that computer models have been consistent in the past day or so in showing the arrival of the heat wave.

A deep low-pressure area moving into the Gulf of Alaska will have the countervailing action of raising the high-pressure ridge in the Western U.S.

“Each day we will see a gradual warming trend as the center of the high moves toward southern Idaho or northern Nevada,” according to Friday’s online forecast discussion.

Air pressure at high altitudes should climb to “impressive” levels, forecasters said. That will translate into a thicker atmosphere which favors lower-level heating.

The summer of 2017 is already becoming memorable for its heat. Spokane is on pace to exceed its average number of days at 90 degrees or hotter. So far, Spokane has had 13 days at 90 degrees or hotter through Friday. The annual average is 19 days. Spokane will exceed that average late next week if forecasters are correct.

The record for highs of 90 degrees or hotter came in 1998 with 38 days. That was followed by 2003 with 33 days of 90-degree-plus heat; 2015 with 31 days; and 2013 with 29 days.

The mountains may be the only place to escape. Highs should be in the upper 70s to low 80s through Wednesday at an elevation of 5,000 feet in North Idaho, but Thursday could see highs in the upper 80s at higher elevations.