A very wet and active weather pattern continues across the Pacific Northwest. The promised cool-down was slow to materialize Friday night, but snow levels are gradually lowering nonetheless. Heavy, wet snow continues Saturday for elevations above around 4000 ft throughout the region on Saturday, holding fairly steady throughout the day. The heaviest precipitation will be between Stevens Pass and the Canadian border Saturday morning, but it eases by the afternoon as moisture increases slightly further south. That slightly higher snow level cuts into expected snow totals at places like Stevens Pass, where most accumulations will be above the Pass. Extreme winds on Friday evening are gradually easing, but remain in the moderate to locally strong range for areas near and east of the Cascade Crest on Saturday. These winds will continue to ease through Saturday night as light rain and snow showers decrease, with little change in the snow level.
A warm front switches winds to the SSW on Sunday and brings in moderate rain and snow from south to north as the day progresses. Most areas should experience subtle warming as the day progresses. A brief period of little snow may very slightly delay the warming in the Passes, but there's just not much cold air to work with.
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
Light rain and snow showers. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy in the evening with light rain and snow developing overnight.
Saturday
Decreasing moderate to heavy rain and snow. Moderate ridgeline winds decrease and become mostly light.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing light rain and snow showers.
Saturday
Heavy rain, snow, and convergence banding become moderate in the afternoon. Gradually decreasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing mostly light rain and snow showers.
Saturday
Rain and snow (heavy at Paradise, moderate at White Pass, and light at Crystal). Gradually decreasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing light rain and snow showers.
Saturday
Decreasing moderate rain and snow. Rain mixing with snow at pass level. Decreasing moderate ridgeline and mostly light W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing light rain and snow showers. Light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Decreasing moderate rain and snow. Rain at pass level. Decreasing moderate ridgeline and light to moderate W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Decreasing light rain and snow showers. Decreasing light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Decreasing moderate snow becoming light by the afternoon. Moderate to strong 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).