Good morning, everyone! Warm and mostly dry weather will stick around through the start of the weekend before a strong cold front brings a noticeable change to the region.
Friday will stay mostly dry and warm as a brief ridge of high pressure builds across the region. Temperatures will climb around 3 to 5 degrees above normal. Similar conditions continue into Saturday, with another warm afternoon expected ahead of the next weather system.
A Fire Weather Watch is in effect Saturday afternoon through Saturday evening for the Owyhee Mountains and Southern Highlands. Hot and dry conditions combined with increasing southwest winds could create critical fire weather conditions. Humidity could fall to around 15 to 20 percent, while southwest winds reach 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. Any fire that develops could spread quickly, so outdoor burning is not recommended.
A strong cold front will begin moving into southeast Oregon late Saturday night before pushing into southwest Idaho early Sunday morning. The front will bring scattered showers, a few isolated thunderstorms and gusty winds. Southwest wind gusts could reach around 40 mph as the front moves through.
The best chance for precipitation will remain farther north, particularly around Baker County in Oregon and Valley County in Idaho. Some locations in these areas could receive between half an inch and eight-tenths of an inch of precipitation by Sunday.
Much colder air will also move in behind the front. Snow levels could fall to around 6,500 to 7,500 feet by Sunday night, allowing the highest elevations to pick up around 1 to 2 inches of snow.
Sunday will be noticeably cooler and breezy, with lingering showers possible across northeast Oregon and the central Idaho mountains.
Cool and unsettled weather will continue into the beginning of next week. Temperatures are expected to remain slightly below normal Monday and Tuesday before another weak system moves through Wednesday, bringing another small chance for precipitation over the higher terrain.
By the end of next week, warmer and drier weather is expected to return, with temperatures potentially climbing 5 to 10 degrees above normal.
