We're in for another dry day with a strong upper level ridge of high pressure steering the storm track well north of our area. However, we will see some high and mid clouds slip under the ridge during the day, creating some filtered sunshine in the afternoon. We have strong temperature inversions once again, with most stations above 5000' reporting temperatures above freezing and lower stations well below freezing. The top of Alpental is 37F this morning at 5400' and the base at 3100' is a chilly 21F. Brisk east winds through the Passes will bring low clouds up to and near the Passes, especially for Snoqualmie. If you're exploring higher elevations today, you'll encounter a stiff W-NW wind above 6000-7000' over the Washington Cascades. Freezing levels will be in the 9000-10000' range, although it will take until the afternoon for the warm air to fully work east of the Cascade crest.
Freezing levels will start to slowly fall tonight into Wednesday as a weak Pacific frontal system falls apart offshore but still manages to send mid and high clouds our way.
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, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds late morning. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds mid-day. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds mid-day. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds mid-day. Areas of fog/low clouds near and east of White Pass. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny mid and upper slopes in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds mid-day. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog near and especially east of the Pass. Light to occasionally moderate E winds at Pass level and WNW ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog near and especially east of the Pass. Light to moderate E winds at Pass level and WNW ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny mid and upper slopes in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds mid-day. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog near and especially east of the Pass. Light to occasionally moderate E winds at Pass level and WNW ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog near and especially east of the Pass. Light to moderate E winds at Pass level and WNW ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny mid and upper slopes in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog lower slopes and valleys. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog lower slopes and valleys. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny mid and upper slopes in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog lower slopes and valleys. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog lower slopes and valleys. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny mid and upper slopes in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog lower slopes and valleys. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Cooler with areas of low clouds and fog lower slopes and valleys. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny in the morning, becoming partly sunny with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy with mid and high clouds. Light to 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).