We're in for quite the mild day across the area as high pressure exerts control over the western US and shoves the remnants of an atmospheric river north of the border during the day. The beginning of the day will start out drippy with low clouds from about Snoqualmie Pass and northward along the west slopes of the Cascades, but these low clouds will break up later this morning on our way to mostly sunny skies. Occasional high clouds will give the appearance of filtered sunshine at times.
Temperatures are already well above freezing at all mountain weather stations, and those mild temperatures will climb during the day, with 5000' high temperatures peaking in the upper 40s to low 50s this afternoon. These mild temperatures will be accompanied by 11,000-13,000' freezing levels.
Mild temperatures and mostly clear skies will continue Tuesday night through Wednesday morning. We should see some patchy valley fog and near the Cascade Passes as well with generally light winds and clear skies. A weak weather system will sputter out before reaching the Pacific Northwest Wednesday afternoon. We may see an increase in cloud cover for northern zones and an increase in westerly ridgeline winds in the mid-to-late afternoon.
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
Partly cloudy in the morning, then mostly sunny with occasional high clouds in the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy in the morning with occasional light rain or drizzle. Clouds breaking up late morning, then mostly sunny with occasional high clouds in the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy in the morning with occasional light rain or drizzle. Clouds breaking up late morning, then mostly sunny with occasional high clouds in the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly cloudy in the morning with areas of low clouds. Mostly sunny with occasional high clouds late morning through the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy in the morning with occasional light rain or drizzle. Clouds breaking up late morning, then mostly sunny with occasional high clouds in the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate W ridgeline winds. Light and variable winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog and near the Passes. Light to occasionally moderate W ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy in the morning with occasional light rain or drizzle. Clouds breaking up late morning, then mostly sunny with occasional high clouds in the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate W ridgeline winds. Light and variable winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog and near the Passes. Light to occasionally moderate W ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Tuesday
Partly cloudy in the morning with areas of low clouds. Mostly sunny with occasional high clouds late morning through the afternoon. Light to moderate ridgeline winds, strongest in the morning.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly clear in the morning with areas of low clouds. Mostly sunny with occasional high clouds late morning through the afternoon. Light to moderate ridgeline winds, strongest in the morning.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly clear in the morning with areas of low clouds. Mostly sunny with occasional high clouds late morning through the afternoon. Light to moderate ridgeline winds, strongest in the morning.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Partly to mostly clear in the morning with areas of low clouds. Mostly sunny with occasional high clouds late morning through the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly clear. Patchy valley fog. Light to occasionally moderate 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).