Scattered snow showers and will continue this morning, heaviest near the remnants of a convergence zone between the Mt Loop Hwy and Highway 2 and also near and to the west of Mt Hood. West winds are still breezy but lighter than yesterday. Temperatures are downright chilly for mid-March, with mid-mountain temperatures in the teens, and single digits in the alpine.
Showers will become lighter and more isolated by mid-day. An incoming shortwave upper level trough will kick up a new round of shower activity mid to late afternoon, with more moderate showers likely for the Olympics and Mt Baker area. While light to moderate snow showers will spread inland and continue overnight, we'll see the main storm event start to take shape, as moderate to heavy precipitation in the form of a warm front lifts into the Mt Hood area and likely the SW Cascades including Mt St Helens.
A low pressure system will curl towards Vancouver Island on Wednesday, with a the frontal system slamming into the region. The heaviest precipitation will likely stay near and south of Hwy 2, with lighter precipitation rates further north. The same areas with the heavier precipitation will see a more significant warming trend in the afternoon. That warming trend will continue into the evening. Snowfall rates will approach several inches an hour for southern areas. Winds will start strong in the morning, and become extreme in the late afternoon. Stormy conditions will continue through the end of the week.
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
Mostly cloudy with scattered light snow showers in the morning, becoming light to occasionally moderate in the afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Cloudy with scattered light snow showers in the morning, becoming light to occasionally moderate in the afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds, becoming strong in the afternoon.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers this morning, becoming scattered light snow showers mid-day. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers this morning, becoming scattered light snow showers mid-day. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers this morning, becoming scattered light snow showers mid-day. Light to moderate W ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate snow showers. Moderate W ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers this morning, becoming scattered light snow showers mid-day. Moderate W ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate snow showers. Moderate W ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with isolated light snow showers near the crest. Increasing clouds in the afternoon. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with isolated light snow showers near the crest. Increasing clouds in the afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy with isolated light snow showers near the crest. Increasing clouds in the afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers this morning, becoming scattered light snow showers mid-day. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow showers in the evening, then moderate to heavy rain and snow. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds increasing after midnight.
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).