Other than a stray leftover sprinkle, most mountain locations are dry this morning. An upper-level ridge builds today from south to north, bringing some partial clearing through the first part of the day, mild temperatures, and generally calm winds. It should be a very pleasant day in the hills. Expect a mix of sun and clouds, with increasing mid and upper-level clouds building from south to north throughout the day and afternoon. Freezing levels will be on the rise, cresting Thursday morning around 8000-9000ft.
The upper-level ridge shifts east Wednesday night while cloud cover keeps overnight temperatures warm. The next system arrives on Thursday, with rain spreading inland in the afternoon along with an uptick in wind speed. As of now, most of the precipitation looks to fall between the early afternoon and late evening. It’s a modest storm at best, and snow levels during much of the precipitation look to be in the 5000-7000ft range, sadly. Temperatures cool rapidly after the front passes through late Thursday night as breezy westerly flow increases, but there may not be much snow left to squeeze out by that point. A post-frontal trough keeps things cool and showery on Friday and Saturday.
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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Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light ridgeline winds. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly to partly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds, increasing late. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly to partly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light to moderate ridgeline winds, decreasing to light. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly to partly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light to moderate ridgeline winds, decreasing to light. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light to moderate ridgeline winds, decreasing to light. Light westerly pass-level winds veer southeast and increase to moderate in the afternoon. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light to moderate ridgeline winds, decreasing to light. Light westerly pass-level winds veer southeast and increase to moderate in the afternoon. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light to moderate ridgeline winds, decreasing to light. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
A mix of sun and clouds, sunniest farther east of the crest. Mild temperatures. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds decrease to light to moderate. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with light to moderate ridgeline winds, decreasing to light. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with light to moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
Wednesday
Sun and clouds with moderate to strong ridgeline winds, decreasing to moderate. Mild temperatures. Cloud cover increases in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with moderate ridgeline winds. Temperatures remain warm overnight.
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).