One more day of wind and rain before we see a major pattern change. This persistent atmospheric river (AR) continues to bring rain and very high elevation snow to the Olympics and Central/North Cascades. Expect the heaviest precipitation in the Mountain Loop and Mt Baker areas. Due to the narrow nature of the storm, we continue to suffer from the same problem: small shifts in its position result in big changes in rainfall amounts. Today, Snoqualmie Pass appears to be right on the line between significant precipitation and nothing impressive. Further south and east, there could be a few sprinkles, but overall it looks like a dry day.
With rain well above most of our mountain tops, the other big story with this storm is the winds. Expect gusty conditions throughout the day with strong to even extreme winds. The increase in wind speeds will be most notable for areas near and east of the Cascade crest.
Late this afternoon or evening a high pressure ridge builds into the Pacific Northwest from the south, pushing precipitation northward and finally drawing this warm, wet storm to an end. On Tuesday morning, low clouds may linger in the mountains, with a few showers still dripping near the Canadian border, but the trend will be for clearing. High, generally thin clouds could result in more filtered sunshine and keep it from going full 'bluebird.' 5000ft temperatures may rise into the upper 40s or even brush 50 degrees. This will be the start of a prolonged warm and dry period. But at least we should get plenty of sunshine.
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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Monday
Rain could be heavy at times in the western Olympics. Moderate but gusty winds.
Monday
Night
Showers, mostly in the western Olympics. Moderate WSW winds turning W and decreasing.
Monday
Stormy with rain and high elevation snow. Precipitation could be heavy at times. Strong and gusty SW winds decreasing slightly.
Monday
Night
Rain showers mainly in the evening, becoming scattered overnight. Moderate to strong and gusty SW winds turning W and decreasing.
Monday
Stormy with rain and very high elevation snow. Precipitation could be heavy at times. Moderate to strong and gusty SW winds decreasing slightly.
Monday
Night
Showers mainly in the evening, becoming isolated overnight. Light to moderate WSW winds turning more W and decreasing.
Monday
A few isolated showers mainly near Mt Rainier. Gusty moderate to strong winds, gradually decreasing. Some filtered sunshine possible in the afternoon.
Monday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy, a few isolated sprinkles possible. Light to moderate WSW wind turning W and decreasing.
Monday
Rain showers throughout the day. Gusty moderate winds increasing in the afternoon.
Monday
Night
Cloudy solated showers. Moderate W ridgeline winds decreasing. Light easterly flow developing in the Pass overnight.
Monday
Rain showers throughout the day. Strong and gusty W ridgeline winds.
Monday
Night
Scattered showers in the evening. Moderate W ridgeline winds decreasing. Light easterly flow developing in the Pass overnight.
Monday
Rain and high elevation snow, mainly near the Cascade crest. Precipitation could be heavy at times. Very strong and gusty WSW winds.
Monday
Night
Scattered showers mainly in the evening near the crest, becoming less likely overnight. Very strong and gusty WSW winds turning W and decreasing.
Monday
Rain showers mainly near the crest, becoming isolated further east. Extreme and gusty winds in the morning, decreasing slightly later in the day.
Monday
Night
A few isolated showers in the evening pafrticularly in the NW part of the zone. Very strong and gusty winds continuing to decrease.
Monday
Partly to mostly cloudy with filtered sunshine. Strong and gusty W winds decreasing.
Monday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with some low clouds and fog possible. Moderate W winds decreasing.
Monday
Partly sunny with high clouds and some filtered sunshine.Gusty moderate to strong W winds decreasing gradually.
Monday
Night
Partly to mostly clear with a few high thin clouds. Moderate W winds decreasing.
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).