A few showers continue to linger around the region this morning in the Olympics and near Mt Baker. As what's left of our most recent storm slides in Canada, precipitation should come to an end. From about I-90 north, the mountains are still relatively socked in with clouds. Further south, clear skies should help you start your day with a bit of sunshine. This will begin a relative break in our active weather pattern. On Tuesday a weak high-pressure ridge will build over the Pacific Northwest. This should help skies to begin to partially clear. However, easterly flow could keep low clouds pushed up against the east side of the Cascades and in the mountain Passes. Your best chance for sunshine will be at higher elevations and in the southern Cascades.
Winds will once again shift to the E-SE, increase, and peak during the afternoon/early evening. Expect strong and gusty winds in many of the usual locations like Snoqualmie Pass, Crystal Mt, White Pass, and Mt Hood. Overnight winds should turn more southerly and decrease. This will leave us with a mostly clear night where temperatures dip and patchy fog could form in the mountain valleys and passes. Near the Columbia River, a few stray showers could lift north from central Oregon, but they shouldn't bring too much in the way of precipitation
On Wednesday a major storm system starts to approach the region. While many locations could begin the day with partly sunny skies, clouds out ahead of the storm should thicken and lower. The high-pressure ridge will do its best to hold off any precipitation, and it appears to do so, until the evening hours. Expect winds to increase and a few sprinkles to reach into the Olympics and Mt Hood areas late in the afternoon as we prepare for the coming storm.
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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Tuesday
Isolated showers in the morning. Sun breaks possible during the day.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear. Winds becoming moderate SSW.
Tuesday
Showers in the morning should taper. Winds should decrease and become SSE. Clouds slowly breaking.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear. Winds shifting to the SSW and becoming light to moderate.
Tuesday
Isolated showers in the morning. Clouds lifting during the day. Sun breaks possible. Winds increasing in the afternoon and becoming SE light to moderate.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear. Moderate SE winds peaking in the evening, then shifting SW and decreasing.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny with bands of hight clouds. Winds becoming SE and increasing. Becoming moderate to strong, with higher wind speeds near Crystal Mt.
Tuesday
Night
Moslty clear. Moderate to strong SE winds in the evening turning S and decreasing significantly. Isolated showers possible near Mt St Helens and Mt Adams.
Tuesday
Cloudy with a few sprinkles in the early morning. Some sun breaks possible during the day. Light E flow at Pass level. Ridgetop winds becoming SE light to moderate.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy. Light to moderate E flow at Pass level. Moderate to strong SE winds at ridgetop peaking in the evening then decreasing overnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with a few sprinkles in the early morning. Some sun breaks possible. Light to moderate E flow at Pass level. SE ridgetop winds becoming moderate.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy. Light to moderate E flow at Pass level. Moderate to strong SE winds at ridgetop peaking in the evening then decreasing overnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with a few flurries in the morning. Some clearing and a few sun breaks possible. Winds becoming SE light to moderate.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear with some valley fog. Light to moderate SE winds decreasing
Tuesday
Cloudy with a few flurries possible in the morning. Clouds breaking up high, with low clouds pushing into mountain valleys and passes. Winds becoming SE light to moderate.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear with patch valley fog. Light to moderate SE winds decreasing.
Tuesday
Becoming partly to mostly sunny with some low clouds in the mountain valleys. Winds becoming moderate from the SE.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with patchy valley fog and low clouds. Light to moderate SE winds decreasing.
Tuesday
Clear in the morning with bands of high clouds during the day. Winds increasing significantly and becoming moderate to strong and gusty from the SE.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with a chance for a few isolated showers. Winds decreasing significantly and becoming light from the SW.
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).