A weak weather system will keep low clouds along the west slopes of the Cascades today from about I-90 northward and squeeze out very light precipitation, likely in the form of drizzle from the Mountain Loop to Mt Baker region. Dry conditions will be found elsewhere. High clouds floating down in NW flow aloft will decrease in the afternoon. As has been the case often over the last few weeks with a pattern of NW flow aloft and an upper level ridge located offshore, moderate to strong ridgeline winds will occur for most areas, peaking this afternoon and backing off through Friday. Mild air is trying to dislodge relatively cooler air over the region and it will have the most luck in the Olympics, Mt Hood area, and east slopes of the Cascades for areas further east from the Cascade crest.
A similar forecast will hold through Friday with less low level cloud cover along the west slopes of the Cascades. We're still on track for a more significant storm over the weekend.
Weather Forecast
Olympics
West North
West Central
West South
Stevens Pass
Snoqualmie Pass
East North
East Central
East South
Mt. Hood
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Thursday
Partly to mostly cloudy.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy.
Thursday
Cloudy with periods of light rain or snow.
Thursday
Night
Cloudy.
Thursday
Cloudy with periods of light rain or snow. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Cloudy. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly sunny in the afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with periods of very light rain or snow. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds, moderate winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy. Moderate ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of very light rain or snow in the afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds, moderate winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy. Moderate ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy near the Cascade crest, partly to mostly sunny further east in the afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly clear.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy near the Cascade crest, partly to mostly sunny further east in the afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly clear. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Partly cloudy near the Cascade crest, mostly sunny further east. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly clear. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with periods of high clouds. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
The NWAC program is administered by the USDA-Forest Service and operates from the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Seattle. NWAC services are made possible by important collaboration and support from a wide variety of federal, state and private cooperators.
The 5000’ temperature forecast does not imply a trend over the 12 hr period and only represents the max and min temperatures within a 12 hr period in the zone. The 6-hr snow level forecast, the forecast discussion, and weather forecast sections may add detail regarding temperature trends.
The snow level forecast represents the general snow level over a 6 hr time period. Freezing levels are forecast when precipitation is not expected.
*Easterly or offshore flow is highlighted with an asterisk when we expect relatively cool east winds in the major Cascade Passes. Easterly flow will often lead to temperature inversions and is a key variable for forecasting precipitation type in the Cascade Passes. Strong easterly flow events can affect terrain on a more regional scale.
Ridgeline winds are the average wind speed and direction over a 6 hr time period.
The wind forecast represents an elevation range instead of a single elevation slice. The elevation range overlaps with the near and above treeline elevation bands in the avalanche forecast and differs per zone.
Wind direction indicates the direction the wind originates or comes from on the 16-point compass rose.
Water Equivalent (WE) is the liquid water equivalent of all precipitation types; rain, snow, ice pellets, etc., forecast to the hundredth of an inch at specific locations. To use WE as a proxy for snowfall amounts, start with a snow to water ratio of 10:1 (10 inches of snow = 1 inch WE). Temperatures at or near freezing will generally have a lower ratio (heavy wet snow) and very cold temperatures can have a much higher ratio (dry fluffy snow).