Fall weather will arrive in force starting Wednesday

We all knew it couldn’t last.

The unseasonably warm start to October that has seen daily high temperatures in the low 80s and high 70s is coming to an end. Starting today, the weather will shift to a more fall-like pattern.

A cold front will bring a chance of rain and lower temperatures through the end of the week. There is even a forecast for mountain snow in the Cascades and higher elevation areas of north central Idaho.

“The big message is, if you are going into the backcountry (today), it’s not going to be summer any more. It’s going to be winter,” said Joe Messina, a National Weather Service meteorologist at Missoula. “We have had this nice, mild fall, summer-like weather. The switch is going to get flipped pretty quick starting (today). So late in the week, if you are going hunting or camping, don’t expect to see the weather we have been having lately.”

Messina was talking about the Bitterroot Mountains and said places like Lolo Pass, Elk City and even White Bird Hill could see snow. There is no threat of that or even a hard frost in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley. But daily high temperatures will drop to the 50s and 60s, said Daniel Butler, a National Weather Service meteorologist at Spokane. Both the Palouse and Camas Prairie could see frost.

He said the unusually warm days of late are probably gone until next year.

“There may be an off chance Lewiston could see some 70s again, perhaps one more time, but definitely not the 80s,” Butler said.

Many people will mourn the switch being flipped, but lovers of fall should be pleased. For example, big game hunters in Idaho and Washington have been contending with difficult and dry conditions that can make it more difficult to find deer and elk.

“There is a lot of anticipation coming on with the weather change,” said George Fisher, senior conservation officer for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game at Grangeville.

Although elk hunters have found some success, he said the warm weather has animals bedding down early in the day.

“As soon as the sun comes up the critters are finding a place to hide.”

Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273.