A storm system dropped an average of 6-12" of snow across the mountains over the last 24 hours. This system has shifted east our our area but there are a few leftover light snow showers along the west slopes of the Cascades and Mt Hood area this morning. Strong upper level ridging will build offshore today, helping to trap some low-level moisture near mountaintops this afternoon. We'll see more cloud cover hang on along the west slopes of the Cascades from near the Canadian border and south to I-90, with a mix of sun and clouds elsewhere. This will be the last "cold" day for awhile...so enjoy winter-like freezing levels while you can.
High pressure and upper level ridging will take hold Thursday through at least early next week with rising freezing levels and mostly clear skies. Offshore flow will contribute to a period of moderate North to East ridgeline winds later tonight through Thursday. While freezing levels will rise tomorrow, this will help take some of the bite out out of the first day of the warm-up.
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
Mostly cloudy with a chance of a snow shower this morning. Partly sunny this afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear.
Wednesday
Cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning. Mostly cloudy with sunbreaks this afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning. Mostly cloudy with sunbreaks this afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning. Partly sunny this afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning. Partly to mostly cloudy this afternoon. Light to moderate NW ridgeline winds easing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning. Partly to mostly cloudy this afternoon.Light to moderate NW ridgeline winds easing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning near the Cascade crest. Partly sunny this afternoon, becoming mostly sunny further east.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning near the Cascade crest. Partly sunny this afternoon, becoming mostly sunny further east.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning near the Cascade crest. Partly sunny this afternoon, becoming mostly sunny further east.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers this morning, then partly sunny this afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds decreasing this afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear. Periods of 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).