NW flow associated with a transiting upper trough has pushed the intense frontal system that has been impacting the region in recent days south of our region. Snow showers linger near and west of the Cascade Crest. Moderate WNW ridgeline winds will be the most impactful weather factor on Saturday, peaking in the morning. Shower activity is fairly disorganized, with weak convergence activity focusing on the central Washington Cascades from the southern mountain loop to around Crystal Mountain. Favored areas could see up to 0.25" of water equivalent, but most areas in this region will pick up 0.05-0.15", translating into around 1" of new snow. Snow levels remain under 1000 ft throughout the day.
Expect mostly clear skies for most areas in the evening, but a few snow showers can't be ruled out in the northern Cascades. High clouds increase overnight into Sunday morning as temperatures begin to moderate. Warm frontal moisture has been slightly delayed, but is likely to move into the Olympics in the early afternoon and the Cascades late in the day for light snow with snow levels around 1000-2000 ft and closer to 3000-4000 ft for Mt Hood.
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
Partly cloudy with isolated snow showers in the eastern Olympics.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy with isolated light snow showers.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight.
Saturday
Light snow showers and convergence tapering in the afternoon with increasing sun breaks.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight.
Saturday
Light snow showers mainly near and north of Mt Rainier. Mostly cloudy with increasing sun breaks as the day progresses.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight.
Saturday
Light snow showers and weak convergence banding with increasing sun breaks in the mid-day and afternoon hours. Moderate ridgeline and light-to-moderate W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Decreasing mostly light ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Light snow showers and weak convergence banding with increasing sun breaks in the mid-day and afternoon hours. Moderate ridgeline and light-to-moderate W wind at the Pass.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Decreasing mostly light ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight.
Saturday
Scattered light snow showers near the Cascade Crest, becoming isolated in the afternoon. Increasing sunshine further east. Decreasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight.
Saturday
Isolated snow showers near the Cascade Crest. Otherwise, partly cloudy. Decreasing moderate ridgeline winds.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight.
Saturday
Light snow showers early in the day, mainly on the west slopes of Mt Hood. Becoming partly cloudy. Strong winds, extreme gusts in the morning, then gradually decreasing.
Saturday
Night
Mostly clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Decrasing light to 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).