There are a few areas of clouds still hanging around the mountains this morning, particularly near the Canadian border and the Central Cascades. This should change quickly with all locations seeing mostly sunny skies. A weak low pressure continues to head southward off the Washington coast towards central Oregon. As it finally exits the region, our upper airflow will turn more northerly. This will usher much drier air into the mountains and set us into a persistent diurnal pattern for the next several days Generally, light winds and plenty of sunshine will allow temperatures to increase significantly each afternoon and feel much warmer than readings may suggest. Overnight, colder air will sink and pool into the mountain valleys and low-lying areas forming temperature inversion in some locations. You could even see patchy fog near lakes, rivers, and other cloud-prone areas. With a high-pressure ridge seated stubbornly in the eastern Pacific providing northerly flow aloft, this pattern won't change much as we head through 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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Friday
Clouds and a few flurries in the morning, becoming mostly sunny.
Friday
Night
Clear skies and light winds.
Friday
Clouds possible in the morning. Quickly becoming mostly sunny.
Friday
Night
Clear skies and light winds. Temperature inversions possible.
Friday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, quickly becoming mostly sunny.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear skies and light winds. Temperature inversions possible.
Friday
Partly cloudy with a few flurries possible in the morning. Quickly becoming mostly sunny.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear with patchy low clouds and fog. Temperature inversions possible.
Friday
Clouds in the morning, quickly becoming mostly sunny. Light and variable winds becoming N.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear skies with temperatures inversions possible. Patchy low clouds and fog overnight. Light N winds.
Friday
Clouds and a few flurries possible in the morning. Quickly becoming mostly sunny. Light N winds.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear skies with temperature inversions forming patchy fog and low clouds. Light N winds.
Friday
Mostly to partly cloudy in the morning, quickly becoming mostly sunny.
Friday
Night
Clear skies with temperature inversions possible. Light to moderate N winds decreasing overnight.
Friday
Few clouds in the morning becoming sunny.
Friday
Night
Clear skies with temperature inversions possible. Light to moderate NNE winds.
Friday
Few clouds in the morning quickly becoming sunny.
Friday
Night
Clear skies with temperature inversions possible. Light to moderate NNE winds decreasing.
Friday
Mostly sunny with passing mid and low clouds. A few fluries are possible on the W and S sides of the mountain. Winds increasing slightly in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear with temperature inversions and low clouds possible. Light to moderate NE 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).