A frontal system will push through the area today bringing low-elevation rain and mid and upper-elevation snow along with plenty of wind to the mountains. A warm front has lifted north early this morning with steadier precipitation near the Canadian border and more showery precipitation to the south. A cold front along the Washington coast will slide inland during the day, bringing a period of more moderate to heavy precipitation rates as it passes through the Cascades late morning/mid-day. Snow levels are slightly lower near the Cascade Passes and along the east slopes of the Cascades (2500-3500') and after the front's passage, we'll see snow levels rise to around 4000-4500' Sunday afternoon. Most areas will see moderate to strong S-SW ridgeline winds today. Mt Hood is on the southern fringe of this system and will see less precipitation relative to areas further north.
The low center associated with the frontal system will hang back and after a relative lull in precipitation rates, we should see showers increase with similar precipitation amounts and winds overnight but with slowly lower snow levels (3000-3500' by early Mon morning). Showers will stick with us through Monday morning and become more scattered in the afternoon. Sunbreaks along the eastern slopes of the Cascades along with few clouds will allow the freezing levels to bump up to 4000-4500' in the afternoon. Strong westerly winds will hang on in the Mt Hood area the longest.
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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Sunday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow becoming showers in the afternoon. Heaviest precipitation SW slopes of the Olympics. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing overnight.
Sunday
Moderate to occasionally heavy rain and snow becoming light to moderate showers in the afternoon. Strong ridgeline winds.
Sunday
Night
Light to moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing overnight.
Sunday
Light to moderate rain and snow becoming showers in the afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Sunday
Night
Light to moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds decreasing late.
Sunday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers increasing mid-day. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds decreasing late.
Sunday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers increasing mid-day. Light east winds at Pass level becoming moderate W in the afternoon. Moderate SW ridgeline winds increasing in the afternoon.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate W ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Sunday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers increasing mid-day. Light east winds at Pass level becoming moderate W in the afternoon. Moderate SW ridgeline winds increasing to strong in the afternoon.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate to strong W ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Sunday
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow becoming light to occasionally moderate showes in the afternoon. Ridgeline winds increasing to moderate during the day.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, heaviest near the Cascade crest. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Sunday
Cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers becoming light to moderate mid-day. Ridgeline winds increasing to moderate during the day.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, heaviest near the Cascade crest. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Sunday
Cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers becoming light to moderate mid-day. Ridgeline winds increasing to moderate during the day.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, heaviest near the Cascade crest. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Sunday
Cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers becoming light to occasionally moderate mid-day. Ridgeline winds increasing to strong during the day.
Sunday
Night
Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. 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).