Shallow low clouds near the Olympics and west of the Cascade crest from about I-90 and northward will slowly lift and partially scatter this afternoon. Sunnier skies can be found elsewhere with just a few passing high clouds. Moderate to strong NW ridgeline winds will ease today as we wait for a change in the weather. Freezing levels and temperatures will warm dramatically further east of the Cascade crest and for the southern Cascades and down at Mt Hood.
Our long-awaited snow storm will arrive on Saturday and continue through the weekend. High clouds will increase Friday night ahead of the frontal system. Precipitation will begin for the northwest Cascades and Olympics in the morning and slowly expand south as an E-W oriented frontal boundary slides south out of British Columbia. Snow levels should briefly bump up above Pass level for Snoqualmie Pass ahead of the front Saturday afternoon. While moderate snow is likely for the Mt Baker area, the other main impact will be the rapidly increasing westerly winds, with ridgeline winds quickly becoming strong in most areas during the day. Stormier conditions will develop Saturday night.
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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Friday
Partly sunny with areas of low clouds.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy after midnight.
Friday
Cloudy in the morning, becoming mostly cloudy in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy after midnight.
Friday
Cloudy in the morning, becoming mostly cloudy in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy after midnight.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming cloudy late.
Friday
Cloudy in the morning with low clouds, becoming partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon, sunnier east of the Pass. Moderate ridgeline W winds decreasing in the afternoon. Light west winds at Pass level.
Friday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy aftern midnight. Light west ridgeline winds.
Friday
Cloudy in the morning with low clouds, becoming partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon, sunnier east of the Pass. Moderate to strong ridgeline NW winds decreasing in the afternoon. Light west winds at Pass level.
Friday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy aftern midnight. Light west ridgeline winds.
Friday
Mostly sunny except partly to mostly cloudy near the Cascade crest. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming cloudy late.
Friday
Mostly sunny except partly sunny near the Cascade crest. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming cloudy late.
Friday
Mostly sunny except partly sunny near the Cascade crest. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening, then becoming cloudy late.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing in the afternoon.
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).