A front is draped from Hoquiam to the Mountain Loop early Friday. The front features moderate rain/snow and will focus 2-5" of additional snow on the west slopes of the central Washington Cascades during the morning hours. The Mt. Rainier area can expect 1-3" with mostly lighter precipitation rates as the front weakens and fizzles by the evening. Expect light to moderate W ridgeline winds across the region, accelerating slightly along the east slopes of the Cascades.
NW flow aloft provides a cool, drippy pattern on Friday night with very light precipitation increasing slightly ahead of a weak disturbance arriving Saturday.
The weak disturbance on Saturday could bring 1-3" of snow for the west slopes of the Cascades with minimal spillover onto the east slopes. Some areas can expect moderate to locally strong ridgeline winds to have the most momentum in the southern Washington and Oregon Cascades.
Temperatures remain near seasonal norms.
Weather Forecast
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Snoqualmie Pass
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Mt. Hood
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Friday
Partly cloudy with isolated snow flurries.
Friday
Night
Cloudy with rain and snow developing overnight.
Friday
Rain and snow mostly ending early, then snow flurries/showers.
Friday
Night
Very light snow showers.
Friday
Moderate rain and snow, tapering or ending from N to S by early afternoon, then mostly cloudy with isolated snow flurries.
Friday
Night
Light snow showers and weak convergence increasing overnight.
Friday
Increasing light snow.
Friday
Night
Light snow tapers to light showers.
Friday
Moderate snow during the morning ending by the afternoon and becoming mostly cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Friday
Night
Light snow showers and weak convergence. Light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Friday
Moderate snow during the morning ending by the afternoon and becoming mostly cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Friday
Night
Light snow showers and weak convergence. Light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Friday
Light snow ending early, then becoming partly cloudy.
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).