The calendar may have turned to December but the next few days will not feel very winter-like. Upper level ridging extending from the southwestern US to our offshore waters will keep us dry through mid-week. Freezing levels will soar to 10,000-11,000' over the area today and more or less stay there for the next few days with mid/upper mountain temperatures above freezing and topping out in the 40s today. Expect a cooler start at lower trailheads and lower elevations until you pop out above the inversion. The east slopes of the Cascades near and north of Hwy2 will see a cooler start and slower warming trend today but will still see high freezing level/milder temperatures as the day wears on.
We can expect some high clouds over the north Cascades this morning to become patchier this afternoon with clearer skies further south. Low level cold air in the mountain valleys and light to moderate easterly offshore flow will allow some low clouds through the Cascade Passes. These low clouds should break up this afternoon and become patchier overnight. Low clouds and fog will likely be patchier near the Passes on Monday.
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
Partly cloudy this morning with high clouds, becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear.
Sunday
Partly cloudy this morning with high clouds, becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear.
Sunday
Partly cloudy this morning with high clouds, becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear.
Sunday
Mostly sunny. Cooler lower slopes and near White Pass. Patchy low fog near White Pass.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with areas of low clouds and fog, becoming partly cloudy this afternoon. Cooler lower slopes. Light to moderate E wind at Pass level, light to moderate W winds at ridgeline.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear with patchy low fog. Cooler lower slopes. Light to moderate E wind at Pass level, light to moderate W winds at ridgeline.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with areas of low clouds and fog, becoming partly cloudy this afternoon. Cooler lower slopes. Light to moderate E wind at Pass level, light to moderate W winds at ridgeline.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear with patchy low fog. Cooler lower slopes. Light to moderate E wind at Pass level, light to moderate W winds at ridgeline.
Sunday
Partly cloudy this morning with high clouds, becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon. Areas of valley fog. Cooler lower slopes and further east of the Cascade crest.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear. Cooler lower slopes with areas of valley fog.
Sunday
Partly cloudy this morning with high clouds, becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon. Areas of valley fog. Cooler lower slopes and further east of the Cascade crest.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear. Cooler lower slopes with areas of valley fog.
Sunday
Mostly sunny in the afternoon. Areas of valley fog. Cooler lower slopes and further east of the Cascade crest.
Sunday
Night
Mostly clear. Cooler lower slopes with areas of valley fog.
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).