VIDEO: Warm & hazy today, rainy and colder by the weekend

Our warm days are numbered. The warm, sunny weather that dominated the forecast through the first half of October will soon be a thing of the past. Sunshine and highs in the 70s will be replaced by cold, rainy, and windy days by this weekend.

For Wednesday, temperatures are again forecasted in the low 70s, but the skies are far more hazy and air quality drops have been noted. Spokane is boarding on moderate and unhealthy of sensitive groups as of 7am, with locations from Sandpoint and northward reporting Unhealthy air quality largely due to the Kootenai River Complex Fire, still burning in North Idaho.

A ridge of high pressure dominates the weather pattern for two more days bring sunny/hazy and warm weather to the Northwest through Thursday. The hazy and smoky smelling skies are a result of the late-season wildfires still burning across the northern, particularly bad over the Cascades. The North Idaho Panhandle is under an Air Quality alert, the sinking air from the ridge of high pressure will continue to bring air quality issues to the region through Thursday.

The ridge gets worn away and completely breaks down Friday as a storm coming out of Alaska (currently over the Bering Sea and eastern Alaska Wednesday) dives into the Northwest. The incoming storm brings with it plenty of moisture and much cooler temperatures.

The initial change will be felt Friday with increasing cloud cover and highs near 60 degrees. About a 10-15 degree drop from where the week started. The initial rain starts Friday evening as the cold front arrives. The real action takes place over this weekend. Widespread rain and temperatures dropping 25-30 degrees from today will be the case for everyone to go along with wind gusts around 30-35 mph making for a very cold and raw day - especially compared to the recent warmth.

Snow levels will fall to as low as 4,000 or even 3,500 feet in areas. Mountain peaks will likely get their first accumulating snowfall of the season with higher elevation mountain passes, like Lookout Pass seeing a little snow in the early morning or coldest time of the day.

This weather is a lot closer to "normal" for October, but will come as a huge shock for most of us.

KREM 2 News is a Hagadone News Network partner. For more from our partner, visit www.krem.com.