On the heels of our recent AR, a low pressure system lifted a locally intense band of precipitation north overnight. We'll see more intense showers focused on the West North and West Central zones with more scattered showers elsewhere this morning. As the upper-level trough pushes eastward this afternoon, we'll see showers fill back in along the west slopes of the Cascades and Mt. Hood, with a strong Westerly blast of ridgeline winds. This pattern will continue overnight with a likely Puget Sound Convergence Zone developing in the evening. Forecast models are still struggling to find consistency with the evolution but Stevens Pass and the Mtn Loop are the most likely areas to be favored with a convergence zone tonight. We've already cooled down significantly in the last 24 hrs and look for snow levels to drop down another big step late this afternoon and Thursday night.
Showers in westerly onshore flow will continue overnight and linger along the west slopes of the Cascades through Friday morning. We'll see low clouds stick around along the west slopes of the Cascades in the afternoon with a drying and clearing trend along the east slopes of the Cascades as an upper-level ridge builds offshore.
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
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate scattered rain and snow showers.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with isolated light snow showers.
Thursday
Light to moderate rain and snow showers this morning, then scattered showers this afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds easing in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate showers this morning, heaviest western part of the zone. Showers increasing late this afternoon along with moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Light to moderate snow showers in the evening becoming light late. Most intense showers near convergence zone. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Scattered light rain and snow showers this morning, then light to moderate showers this afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Light to moderate snow showers in the evening becoming light late. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Scattered light rain and snow showers this morning, then light to moderate showers this afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Light to moderate snow showers in the evening becoming light late. Most intense showers near convergence zone. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Scattered light rain and snow showers this morning, then light to moderate showers this afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Light to moderate snow showers in the evening becoming light late. Most intense showers near convergence zone. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Isolated light rain and snow showers this morning, then light showers mainly near the crest this afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate snow showers near the crest in the evening becoming scattered showers late. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Isolated light rain and snow showers this morning, then light showers mainly near the crest this afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate snow showers near the crest in the evening becoming scattered showers late. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Isolated light rain and snow showers this morning, then light showers mainly near the crest this afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate snow showers near the crest in the evening becoming scattered showers late. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Scattered light rain and snow showers this morning, then light to moderate showers this afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Light to moderate snow showers. 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).