Clouds hanging around, showers return Sunday

This week’s cool and wet weather has moved off to the east, but not the clouds associated with a broad area of lower air pressure that remains in place across the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures this afternoon in the middle 60s should warm to the middle 70s on Saturday with mostly cloudy conditions. There’s a 20 percent chance of isolated showers after 11 a.m. Saturday. The chance of showers increases to 40 percent Saturday night and 60 percent on Sunday when highs fall back to the 60s under mostly cloudy skies. Lows through the weekend should range from the upper 40s to lower 50s. The normal high for today in Spokane is 74 and the normal low is 50. The pesky system of lower air pressure is already spinning up a new storm disturbance along the Washington coast, and that feature is going to meander to the south and then east, creating a moist southerly flow starting Saturday night. That combined with moisture already being held in the atmosphere should be enough to trigger showers. Things don’t dry out until Monday night and Tuesday when mostly sunny skies and a high near 70 is possible. Forecasters said a slow warming trend may kick in later next week as the low pressure area now hugging the region weakens and gives way to more stable conditions. Record low maximum temperatures were recorded Thursday in Pullman at 52 degrees and Mullan Pass at 35. The high in Spokane was 55, which was 3 degrees above the daily record for the coldest high.