The Pacific Northwest is stuck in a pattern of weak troughs bringing chances for rain/snow and near-normal temperatures.
A weak surface low near the Washington/Idaho border exits NE on Tuesday morning, bringing the associated band of clouds and light rain/snow with it. Weak upper-level troughing remains in its wake, touching off isolated light rain/snow showers with partly to mostly cloudy skies in the afternoon. Expect more sun breaks east of the Cascades. This could drop 1-2" of snow in some areas. Snow levels remain fairly steady around 3000 ft.
Tuesday night, expect partly cloudy skies with isolated rain/snow showers without much of a ridge between weak troughs.
The next weak trough approaches the coast early in the day on Wednesday. The jetstream pushes the limited energy of the system south toward California. Expect mostly cloudy skies with scattered snow showers throughout the region, but more activity in the southern Cascades. Several inches of snow are most likely for the southern Cascade volcanoes with snow levels in the 1500-3000 ft range.
A very subtle cooling trend gradually lowers snow levels, but expect a diurnal fluctuation in snow levels with the gradually increasing influence of the February sun. Winds should be light at all elevations throughout the short-term forecast.
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
Mostly sunny in the morning, then becoming partly cloudy with a slight chance of a light rain or snow shower in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain and snow. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow showers in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain and snow. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow showers in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain and snow. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow showers in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain and snow. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow showers in the afternoon. Light ridgeline and W wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers. Light ridgeline and W wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain and snow. Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain or snow showers in the afternoon. Light ridgeline and W wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers. Light ridgeline and W wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain or snow early, then becoming partly cloudy with an isolated rain or snow shower.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain or snow early, then becoming partly cloudy with an isolated rain or snow shower.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain or snow early, then becoming partly cloudy with an isolated rain or snow shower.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
Tuesday
Cloudy in the morning with periods of light rain or snow early, then becoming partly to mostly cloudy with an isolated rain or snow shower.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with a chance of light rain or snow showers.
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).