FXUS65 KPIH 191145 AFDPIH Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pocatello ID 545 AM MDT Thu Mar 19 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - More record highs expected this afternoon. - Breezy afternoon winds with gusts of 25-35 mph. - Slight cool down and precipitation chances return this weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 238 AM MDT Thu Mar 19 2026 Very little change in the forecast as our overall pattern has yet to change. Record high temperatures will continue today and we did manage to go 5 for 5 on our record highs yesterday! High pressure over the Southwest remains in control with its influences still felt here in Pocatello with some mid and upper level cloud cover working over the top of the ridge in the northern half of our CWA today. Let's look at today's records/forecast highs: Pocatello - 71 (1999) / 77 Idaho Falls - 66 (2007) / 75 Burley - 78 (1997) / 78 Challis - 67 (1990) / 72 Stanley - 56 (1997) / 61 By the time we get to tomorrow afternoon, highs will be in the upper 70s to low 80s for many areas with a 70 to 90 percent chance of reaching 80 degrees in Pocatello and Burley and about a 40 percent chance of the same in Idaho Falls. This is a very slight decrease in the probability of reaching 80 degrees, likely due to some increased cloud cover in latest model runs. Either way, it will still be quite warm today and tomorrow! Breezy afternoon winds continue with gusts of 25-35 mph for many. The high pressure ridge gets flattened during the weekend thanks to an area of low pressure to our north moving eastward. This will put us back into more zonal flow aloft and bring precipitation chances to the Central Mountains and Eastern Highlands. Any showers look to be light as total QPF stays below a tenth of an inch. This increase in cloud cover and weakening high pressure allows temperatures to fall by 5-10 degrees from Friday to Saturday and fall into the upper 50s and low 60s by Sunday afternoon. The cool down is a quick one and we warm into the 70s again by Tuesday and next Wednesday afternoons. A system arriving in the middle next week will cool us down for Thursday, but models are still split on if/how much precipitation we will see from it. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY/... Issued at 543 AM MDT Thu Mar 19 2026 VFR conditions continue across all TAF sites today as we remain under high pressure. Wind gusts look a bit lighter today, around 20 to 25 kts at PIH and IDA. Another afternoon of a westerly crosswind is expected at SUN today. Tomorrow will basically be a repeat of today. && .PIH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...AMM AVIATION...AMM