For most locations, it's a chilly and gusty morning in the mountains. While a high pressure ridge keeps us dry, a short-wave disturbance passing to our north will bring a few nuances to what has been a very repetitive forecast.
The weak short-wave system will flatten the ridge today leading to two more notable changes. First, expect gusty W-NW ridgeline winds. These will be strongest in the eastern forecast zones and on Mt Hood. If you're heading higher on the volcanoes or other notable peaks, very strong alpine winds could make travel extremely difficult. Secondly, high clouds should increase especially in the afternoon. This could bring more filtered sunshine or even overcast conditions. Combine the increased clouds and winds and you get a day that should at least feel much chillier.
The high pressure ridge quickly rebounds overnight causing winds to sharply decrease and skies to clear. Patchy fog could develop in some deeper mountain valleys and passes, particularly near creeks and ponds. After a chilly start Wednesday morning, temperatures rise as the ridge drifts closer to the coast. Warming will be most pronounced in the Olympics, Hood, and West South zones. The question becomes, can developing easterly flow bring entrenched cold air from Central Washington into the eastern portions of the Cascades and Passes.
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, with passing high clouds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Light to moderate but gusty W winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Light to moderate but gusty WNW winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Moderate and gusty W winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds. Light to moderate WNW winds decreasing.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Light to moderate but gusty W winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds. Light E flow developing overnight at pass level.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Moderate and gusty W winds.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds. Moderate and gusty NW winds quickly decreasing in the evening. Light E flow developing at Pass level overnight.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Moderate and gusty WNW wind decreasing slightly.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds. Light to moderate NW winds decreasing in the evening.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Strong and gusty WNW winds decreasing slightly in te afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds. Light to moderate NW decreasing in the evening.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Moderate to strong and gusty WNW winds decreasing slightly in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny, with passing high clouds. Strong and gusty W winds decreasing slightly in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with passing high clouds. Moderate W wind decreasing in the evening.
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).