April Fools! Spring may be on the calendar, but the weather decided against it today. A cold front passed through the mountains overnight, giving us anywhere from a few inches to over a foot of new snow. Today, we'll see much cooler temperatures than yesterday, along with continuing post frontal showers. The heavier showers should be over the southwest quarter of the region including Mt Hood, which could pick up another foot through the day. A slight bump in westerly winds along with ample moisture and unstable air may lead to increased snow rates over the west slopes and Cascade crest during the afternoon. Keep an ear out for thunder with the afternoon showers. Puget Sound Convergence Zones could also bring locally heavier snow showers to areas from the Mtn Loop and south to I-90 this afternoon through the late evening. East of the crest, breaks of sun between showers appear likely.
Winds should gradually ramp down on Sunday, but moisture should continue to stream in as a surface low moves ashore. Expect a similar weather pattern, though with a notch less snowfall than Saturday. The moderate to heavy snowfall looks to continue at Mt Hood through the weekend. Temperatures remain seasonably cold with increasing chances for sun breaks throughout the region.
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
Light snow showers with periods of sun breaks. Showers could be heavier at times.
Saturday
Night
Light snow showers.
Saturday
Scattered snow showers, could become heavier during the afternoon. Isolated chances for lightning in the afternoon.
Saturday
Night
Scattered snow showers.
Saturday
Moderate snow showers, likely becoming heavier during the afternoon. Isolated chances for lightning in the afternoon.
Saturday
Night
Moderate snow showers.
Saturday
Moderate to heavy snow showers over the volcanoes with light to moderate snow showers further east. Isolated chances for thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Saturday
Night
Moderate snow showers.
Saturday
Light to moderate snow showers, likely becoming heavier later in the afternoon. Isolated chances for lightning in the afternoon. Moderate and gusty winds at ridgeline, light to moderate pass level winds.
Saturday
Night
Moderate snow showers. Moderate ridgeline winds with light to moderate pass level winds.
Saturday
Light to moderate snow showers, with heavier snow showers in the afternoon. Isolated chances for lightning in the afternoon. Moderate to strong winds at ridgeline, with moderate pass level winds.
Saturday
Night
Moderate snow showers. Moderate ridgeline winds with light to moderate pass level winds.
Saturday
Light snow showers. Scattered showers in the afternoon, with isolated chances for lightning.
Saturday
Night
Light and scattered snow showers.
Saturday
Light to moderate snow showers with scattered but heavier showers in the afternoon. Isolated chances for lightning in the afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Light and scattered snow showers.
Saturday
Light to moderate snow showers. Scattered showers in the afternoon, with isolated chances for lightning. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Light and scattered snow showers.
Saturday
Moderate to heavy snow showers with strong ridgeline winds. Isolated chances for thunderstorms in the afternoon.
Saturday
Night
Moderate to heavy snowfall and moderate to strong 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).