The Pacific Northwest remains between an offshore trough and a Rocky Mountain ridge with southerly flow aloft maintaining milder than average temperatures. Snow levels west of the Cascade Crest hovered around 4000-4500 ft early Saturday with 2500-3000 ft snow levels east of the Cascade Crest and through the passes with light to moderate E low-level winds. A front draped over the area should continue to bring mostly light rain and snow as a perturbation moves northward along the Oregon coast into Washington State, today. The southern volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens, Adams) and east slopes of the Cascades should receive the most mountain enhancement with light to moderate snowfall and 3-7" of snowfall possible by the end of the day in these areas. Temperatures should stay steady or cool slightly during the day.
Expect light rain and snow to diminish from south to north Saturday evening. A new low forms off the coast of Oregon overnight with another front lifting northward and bringing light snow into the Mt. Hood area overnight. Southerly winds aloft with E flow at the surface continue on Sunday and peak during the morning hours. This should once again focus steadier precipitation along the east slopes of the Cascades. Areas west of the crest can expect cloudy weather with several rounds of light rain/snow. Snow levels remain similar to nearly steady since Saturday afternoon.
Weather Forecast
Olympics
West North
West Central
West South
Stevens Pass
Snoqualmie Pass
East North
East Central
East South
Mt. Hood
Use dropdown to select your zone
Saturday
Decreasing periods of light rain and snow.
Saturday
Night
Snow flurries or sprinkles in the evening, then becoming mostly cloudy.
Saturday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing periods of light rain or snow.
Saturday
Periods of light rain or snow.
Saturday
Night
Very light rain or snow ending during the evening hours, then remaining mostly cloudy.
Saturday
Light rain and snow, moderate at times in the southern volcanoes. Moderate ridgeline winds with strong gusts.
Saturday
Night
Periods of light rain and snow in the evening and early morning hours.
Saturday
Periods of light snow. Light to moderate ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
A chance of snow flurries in the early evening, then mostly cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Periods of light snow possibly mixing with rain at Pass level. Light to moderate ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
A chance of snow flurries in the early evening, then mostly cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Light snow heaviest in the eastern mountains.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing light snow, heaviest in the eastern mountains.
Saturday
Light to moderate snow, heaviest in the eastern mountains, and mixing with rain at lower elevations.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing light snow, mixing with rain at lower elevations.
Saturday
Decreasing light snow, mixing with rain at lower elevations.
Saturday
Night
Very light rain or snow in the evening, then a chance of light rain/snow redeveloping in the early morning hours.
Saturday
Light to occasionally moderate rain/snow.
Saturday
Night
Periods of light rain/snow increasing in the early morning hours.
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).