Mountain Weather Forecast

Weather Synopsis

Happy Thanksgiving! It's a bit wet, cool, and breezy this Thursday afternoon. Perfect for sitting inside and enjoying delicious food with friends and family. A low pressure system just off the coast continues to spin a weak cold front from SW to NW. Unfortunately, depite its name, we won't see much cooling with this front. Instead, snowlevels seem to stay pretty steady overnight. 

The low pressure moves inland this evening tracking over the southern WA Cascades and reinvigorating precipitation. This should help focus the bulk of the rain and snow in two locations. First, Mt Rainier, Mt Saint Helens, Mt Adams, and Mt Hood could see significant precipitation overnight and into Friday morning. Rain and snow could be heavy at times. Combine that with stronger winds around Mt Saint Helens and Mt Hood, and conditions should become quite stormy. Second, NE-E winds and cold air east of the Cascades could result in upslope snow showers for locations like Twisp, Leavenworth, Mission Ridge, and Ahtanum Meadows, particularly in the evening hours. This pattern 'flips the script' with more snow expected in the eastern portions of the zones away from the crest. While most places see near consistent temperatures overnight, areas in the Olympics and northern zones may see some clearing, allowing for more noticeable nighttime cooling. 

What's left of the low pressure system should quickly exit Friday morning as showers linger the longest further south near Mt Hood. A high pressure ridge starts to build over the eastern Pacific Ocean, helping the region to dry out. Skies should clear from north to south, even as pesky low clouds stick in the east side valleys and near the passes. Otherwise, it looks like a nice dry and cool day. 

A short-wave system rides south out of Canada on Saturday. A few weather models show some very light showers in the mountains, but overall, this system doesn't look very wet. Instead, it should just bring increasing clouds and a bit of wind to the area. Offshore (east) winds also set up a rather stark east-to-west temperature divide. Locations at and east of the crest appear substantially cooler than locations further west. The ridge seems to keep the PNW dry and cool, but not cold, into the start of next week.