Light rain and snow shower activity gradually decrease across the west slopes of the Cascades as NNW flow aloft continues with a high-pressure ridge building offshore. Very shallow convection focuses most of the snow showers that remain on the westernmost part of the central Washington Cascades and over the west slopes of the southern volcanoes. A shift to more WNW or NW winds has decreased the ridgeline winds for areas near and east of the Cascade Crest. However, Mt Hood (and potentially other volcanoes), may continue to experience gradually decreasing strong to extreme winds, particularly on the south sides of these features. Snow levels should hover around 3000 ft in most areas today.
A weak disturbance remains on track to pass over western Washington on NNW flow tonight. It should remain moisture-starved but could bring a trace to an inch of snow to parts of the west slopes of the Cascades.
Sunday will be slightly cooler than Saturday with more sunshine. However, as a ridge builds offshore, expect the start of a warming trend for the Olympics and Mt Hood. Ridgeline winds should be mostly light, but linger in the moderate range for Mt Hood.
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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Saturday
Partly to mostly sunny.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly clear skies.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy with a few very light snow showers.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with a few very light snow showers.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy with light snow showers and weak convergence focusing on the western and southern parts of the zone. Decreasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with a few very light snow showers.
Saturday
Decreasing very light snow showers with some sun breaks at times. Decreasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with a few very light snow showers.
Saturday
Partly to mostly cloudy with a few very light snow flurries or snow showers (western part). Moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy with a few snow flurries. Light ridgeline and W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with light snow showers and weak convergence decreasing. Moderate ridgeline and light to moderate W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy with a few snow flurries or snow showers. Light to moderate ridgeline and W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Partly cloudy. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Partly cloudy. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Partly cloudy. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Light snow showers decrease in the afternoon and focus on western part. Strong to extreme ridgeline winds ease very slightly as the day progresses.
Saturday
Night
Partly cloudy with very light snow showers at times. Strong ridgeline winds gradually decrease.
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).