We'll see varying amounts of high clouds slip under a strong upper level ridge today with a back and forth between partly to mostly sunny skies, and periods of high overcast and filtered sunshine. Most mid-mountain and upper mountain temperatures are above freezing this morning, with a slow warming trend that will continue from today through Wednesday with high pressure in control. It will be chillier at the trailhead with temperature inversions in place. Deeper inversions reaching up to 5000' with colder temperatures can be found along the east slopes of the Cascades, most pronounced over the overnights and mornings.
Moderate NW ridgeline winds will continue today for most areas and slowly start to back off tonight and become lighter yet on Wednesday. If you are pushing into the alpine on higher peaks today, expect those winds to become strong at times out of the NW.
A fast moving front will approach the area on Thursday. This windy system will bring just a little snow for the northern and central Cascades with less for areas further east and south.
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
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate NW ridgeline winds. Light W winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Light to moderate NW ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate NW ridgeline winds. Light W winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Moderate NW ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon with periods of high clouds and filtered sun. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional high clouds. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny with occasional high clouds. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly cloudy with occasional 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).