A upper level weather feature will pass through the area today bringing another round of showers to the area. Showers will increase this morning over the Cascades and Mt Hood area. They will begin to decrease and become scattered towards sunset, lingering the longest into the evening for the west slopes of the Cascades near and north of I-90 into the evening. Snow levels shouldn't fluctuate too much today, with just a gradual rise into the 3500-4000' level this afternoon. Generally, 4-8" of snow can be expected through this evening, with the highest totals in the Mt Baker and Paradise areas.
Showers will wind down overnight as an upper-level ridge moves over the area. On Friday, warm frontal moisture will work its way inland from the SW, with light precipitation beginning during the morning hours for the southern Olympics and Mt Hood area and spreading towards the central Cascades in the afternoon. Friday's weather system will be the opening salvo of an extended warm and wet period, but easterly flow will keep snow levels around 3000-3500' in the Cascade Passes and along the east slopes of the Cascades with rising snow levels further west and south.
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
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Scattered light rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight.
Thursday
Light to moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers becoming scattered showers after midnight. Moderate ridgeline winds becoming lighter after midnight.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers becoming scattered showers after midnight. Light to moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Moderate ridgeline winds becoming lighter after midnight.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, heaviest precipitation Paradise and St Helens area. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Moderate ridgeline winds becoming lighter after midnight.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Light to moderate W ridgeline winds increasing in the afternoon. Light E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Light W ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate W ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Light to moderate W ridgeline winds decreasing overnight. Light E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers developing this morning, becoming mostly cloudy with scattered light showers this afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Scattered light rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers developing this morning, becoming mostly cloudy with scattered light showers this afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Scattered light rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers developing this morning, becoming mostly cloudy with scattered light showers this afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Scattered light rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight.
Thursday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, becoming mostly cloudy with scattered light showers this afternoon. Strong ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Scattered light rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Moderate ridgeline winds becoming lighter after midnight.
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).