Warmth continues through the weekend across the Pacific Northwest. Friday night's westerly wind push flushed out much of the lingering pockets of cooler air. As of Saturday morning, the only sub-freezing temperatures are in the Methow Valley / Washington Pass area, and at elevations above 6000-7500 ft.
A warm front will bring a brief band of light but locally heavier rain as it lifts northward across the region on Saturday. This precipitation moves through the central Washington Cascades through 10 AM, then the northern Cascades in the 10 AM to 2 PM time frame. Snow levels are in the 7000-7500 ft range with little chance for snow except in the East North Cascades, where snow levels should be below Washington Pass.
Once the front lifts northward, skies clear from south to north, leaving high overcast and filtered sunshine. This region of fair weather expands north to the central Washington Cascades by the afternoon.
The trailing approaches the Pacific Northwest Coastline Saturday night with light to moderate precipitation stalling over the Olympics. Rain and higher elevation snow spreads into the Cascades Sunday morning with snow levels lowering to around 4000-5000 ft. Precipitation peaks in the afternoon as SSW winds shift WSW and ramp up. Stevens Pass is likely to get wet snow, but only a few inches of snow are expected. The heaviest precipitation is expected around Mt Baker with nearly 1" of water equivalent.
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
Periods of light rain, mainly early in the day, then high overcast.
Saturday
Night
Light rain and higher elevation snow (moderate to heavy in the southern Olympics). Increasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Periods of light rain from mid-morning through early afternoon, then cloudy skies. Mild.
Saturday
Night
Light rain and higher elevation snow develop in the early morning hours. Increasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Periods of light rain from mid-morning through early afternoon, then cloudy skies. Mild.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy. Mild.
Saturday
Periods of light rain through mid-morning. Mild.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy. Mild.
Saturday
Periods of light rain through mid-day. Mild. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy. Mild. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Periods of light rain through mid-day. Mild. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy. Mild. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Periods of light rain or snow.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy.
Saturday
Periods of light rain through mid-day, then high overcast. Mild.
Saturday
Night
Mostly cloudy. Mild.
Saturday
Periods of light rain through mid-morning, then filtered sunshine. Mild.
Saturday
Night
Thin high clouds. Mild.
Saturday
Periods of light rain early, then filtered sunshine. Mild.
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).