A low pressure system off the Washington coast will continue to rotate showers over the area today. Showers will become more intense in the afternoon as the flow veers from south to southwest, with heavier precipitation totals likely along the southern slopes of the Olympics and the west slopes of the Cascades, particularly the southern volcanoes from Mt Rainier to Mt Hood. Snow levels will hover between 4000-5000'. The strongest winds will be on the southern periphery of the showers in the Mt Hood area.
More moderate showers will continue into the evening along the west slopes of the Cascades before tapering off overnight. The weakened upper low will hang offshore and we'll have weak upper level ridging building over the inland NW. Closer to the low, there will be a slight chance of showers over the Olympics and northwest Cascades in the afternoon. Elsewhere, we'll see a mix of PM sun and clouds as freezing levels bump up into the 4500-5500' range.
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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Wednesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, heaviest southern slopes of the Olympics. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers.
Wednesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Showers increasing in the afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers becoming scattered showers after midnight.
Wednesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Showers increasing in the afternoon. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers becoming scattered showers after midnight. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Showers increasing in the afternoon and heaviest south slopes of Mt St Helens and Mt Rainier area. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers in the evening then becoming scattered showers. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers in the morning, becoming light to occasionally moderate in the afternoon. Showers increasing in the afternoon. Light east winds at Pass level. Light to moderate S ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers in the evening then becoming scattered showers. Light to moderate W winds at Pass level and ridgeline.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers in the morning, becoming light to occasionally moderate in the afternoon. Light east winds at Pass level. S ridgeline winds becoming moderate in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers in the evening then becoming scattered showers. Light to moderate W winds at Pass level, moderate at ridgeline.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, then mostly cloudy with showers becoming scattered in the afternoon. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly cloudy. A chance of light rain and snow showers in the evening. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, then mostly cloudy with showers becoming scattered in the afternoon. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly cloudy. A chance of light rain and snow showers in the evening. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with scattered light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers, then mostly cloudy with showers becoming scattered in the afternoon. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly cloudy. A chance of light rain and snow showers in the evening. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Showers increasing in the afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers in the evening then becoming scattered showers.Moderate 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).