A fast-moving and compact band of moderate snow and strong winds will pass across the mountains early this morning. This wave is running a bit later than anticipated, so expect the storm to peak around 10 am. Given the southerly winds with this system, it favors locations near the volcanoes and allows showers to easily impact the east slopes of the Cascades. As the cold front pushes further inland, both winds and precipitation should ease. Post-frontal showers will continue to wring out a few inches of additional snow through Friday morning. As more of the moisture heads south, precipitation will focus on Mt Hood, Mt St Helens, and Mt Rainier.
After a few showers in the morning, conditions should start to dry out and give us a brief break in the weather Friday. However, high clouds will quickly move into the region and remind us that this break will be short-lived. A low-pressure system starts to slide down the coast in the afternoon and begins to spin precipitation up into the mountain from the SW. While most locations will not see snow from this storm until the overnight hours, a few spots in the southern Cascades and Olympics could receive their first showers around sunset.
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
Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Moderate winds decreasing.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with isolated showers.
Thursday
Moderate snow with strong and gusty winds in the morning. Becoming showery with light to moderate winds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with snow showers.
Thursday
Moderate snow and winds in the morning. Becoming showery with light to moderate winds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Winds light to moderate.
Thursday
Moderate snow and winds this morning. Wind could be strong and gusty near the crest. Showers continuing in the afternoon favoring the volcanoes.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Winds increasing slightly and becoming light to moderate.
Thursday
Snow showers with light to moderate winds in the morning. Showers and wind decreasing in the afternoon. Light to moderate E flow decreasing.
Thursday
Night
Isolated snow showers. Light W flow at pass level.
Thursday
A brief period of moderate snow and stronger winds in the morning. Becoming showery with decreasing winds. Moderate E flow in the morning decreasing the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Isolated showers. Light W flow at pass level.
Thursday
A brief period of moderate snow and winds this morning. Quickly becoming showery with decreasing winds.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with isolated showers.
Thursday
A brief period of snow with moderate to strong and gusty winds in the morning. Quickly becoming showery with decreasing winds.
Thursday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers. Light to moderate winds increasing slightly.
Thursday
Snow with moderate to strong and gusty winds in the morning. Becoming showery with decreasing winds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Winds becoming moderate overnight.
Thursday
Stormy, particularly in the morning. Moderate snow with strong and gusty winds. Becoming showery with winds decreasing and becoming moderate 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).