Holiday travelers eye fairly mild weather

Thanksgiving travelers might encounter a slight chance of showers Thursday.

But overall, the weather outlook is clear and dry, said Ken Daniel of the National Weather Service office in Spokane.

“For the remainder of the weekend we expect clearing and basically high temperatures in the mid-30s and lower 40s (in the Lewiston-Clarkston area) and lows in the 20s,” Daniel said Tuesday.

This is pretty typical for this time of year, he added. And there’s nothing in the seven-day forecast that warns of precipitation or below-normal temperatures.

“There’s always signs further out that we could be trending (toward more wintry weather) but nothing is bearing down on us,” he said, pointing out that recreationists are likely disappointed that there isn’t more snow on the ski hills.

Gas prices also have been inching down lately. Prices range from $3.70 a gallon for regular gas at the Nez Perce Express II at 17372 Nez Perce Road to $3.83 a gallon at the Maverick at 404 Thain Road Costco at 301 5th St. in Clarkston is advertising regular gas at $3.66 a gallon.

According to GasBuddy, the nation’s average price of gasoline has declined for the ninth straight week, falling 6.2 cents from a week ago to $3.27 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 25.9 cents from a month ago and 36.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 6.9 cents in the last week and stands at $4.28 per gallon — $1.02 lower than one year ago.

“As millions of Americans gear up to hit the road for Thanksgiving, the national average is seeing its longest streak of declines in over a year, reaching a ninth straight week as gas prices fall to their lowest since January,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “GasBuddy now counts over 65,000 stations with a price of $2.99 per gallon or lower, while 11 states are seeing average prices below $3. In addition, we could see five more states join the sub-$3 club by Thanksgiving. The fall in gas prices, largely seasonal due to weakening gasoline demand, could extend for another week or two, leading to potentially the lowest gas prices since 2021 by Christmas.”