We're in for a dry March weekend with strong upper level ridging positioned well offshore and northerly flow aloft over the region. Low clouds near and west of the Crest will make for a partly to mostly sunny afternoon as the low level moisture remains trapped below roughly 6000'. There should also be more cloud cover near the Washington Pass area today. Mostly sunny skies will dominate elsewhere.
After a pair of cool overnights and mornings, look for a slow warming trend as freezing levels rise from 4000-5000' over the mountains on Saturday afternoon to 4500-6000' on Sunday. We'll see varying levels of northerly winds over the region, with the strong northerlies over the north Cascades, especially east of the Cascade crest over this period.
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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Saturday
Mostly sunny. Areas of low clouds in the morning.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy with areas of low clouds.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy this morning, then partly to mostly sunny this afternoon.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with areas of low clouds.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy this morning, then partly to mostly sunny this afternoon.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with areas of low clouds.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy this morning, then partly to mostly sunny this afternoon.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with areas of low clouds.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy this morning, then partly to mostly sunny this afternoon. Light west winds at Pass level.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with areas of low clouds.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy this morning, then partly to mostly sunny this afternoon. Light west winds at Pass level.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with areas of low clouds.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy this morning, then partly to mostly sunny this afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy in the evening, then mostly clear. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Partly sunny this morning, then partly to mostly sunny this afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear.
Saturday
Mostly sunny with a few low clouds this morning. Locally moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear.
Saturday
Mostly sunny with a few low clouds this morning. Locally moderate 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).