Eastern Idaho stays warm and sunny before major weekend weather shift

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- Eastern Idaho will see mostly clear skies and mild conditions tonight, with low temperatures dropping to around 45 degrees. Quiet and warm weather continues Thursday, with sunny skies and a high near 77 degrees.

The mild stretch is part of an unseasonably warm October pattern that will hold across the region through the end of the workweek. A stable weather system is keeping skies clear and winds light, maintaining temperatures well above seasonal averages before a major weekend weather pattern shift.

Clear skies will persist Thursday night, with temperatures dropping to a low around 46 degrees under a south-southeast wind of around six mph. Friday is forecast to be the warmest day of the week, featuring sunny skies and a high near 80 degrees. Winds on Friday morning will turn southwest at 10 to 15 mph, with gusts reaching up to 26 mph, before cloud cover increases Friday night with a low around 51 degrees.

Weather conditions will begin to transition on Saturday as an upper-level trough approaches the Intermountain West. Winds will pick up during the day while cloud cover increases, though daytime highs will still reach near 69 degrees. Rain chances stand at 40% on Saturday afternoon before spreading from southwest to northeast across eastern Idaho.

Rain chances increase to 80% Saturday night, bringing showers and potential thunderstorms with a low temperature around 40 degrees. The weather service reports that operational models show a cutoff low pressure system over central California and Nevada tapping into tropical moisture from the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Rachel.

Rain remains likely Sunday into early next week as a major airmass change drops temperatures well below seasonal averages.