Brrrr! It's cold out there this morning. Nearly all of our weather stations show temperatures in the teens and even single digits. Look for these cold temperatures to continue to headline our weather for at least the next several days. As if the cold temperatures weren't enough, moderate to strong westerly winds are mixing down to lower elevations than expected in some locations. Strong winds plus cold temperatures equals wind chill values well below zero degrees!
A weakening disturbance will swing into the region from the NW today. As it does so, look for cloudier skies and some very light snow showers from about I90 northward. Areas further south and east should see more sunshine. This little shot of moisture won't add up to much more than a dusting for a few lucky locations.
A low-pressure system will approach the Oregon coast overnight and bring two notable changes to our weather. First, a switch to off-shore (easterly) winds. Expect strong ridgetop and pass winds on Thursday. Second, a warm front will lift from south to north spreading snow across the southern half of the forecast region. With cold air staunchly in place, snow levels should remain low. The front seems to stall around the highway 2 corridor keeping the bulk of the snow further south. Stay warm out there.
Weather Forecast
Olympics
West North
West Central
West South
Stevens Pass
Snoqualmie Pass
East North
East Central
East South
Mt. Hood
Use dropdown to select your zone
Wednesday
Cold. Becoming cloudy. Very light snow showers possible.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly cloudy and cold
Wednesday
Cold. Cloudy with very light snow showers.
Wednesday
Night
Cold. Clearing overnight.
Wednesday
Cold. Becoming cloudy with very light snow showers.
Wednesday
Night
Cold. Clearing overnight.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny. Cold. With moderate to strong W winds.
Wednesday
Night
Increasing clouds. Cold. Snow showers possible near Mt Adams an St Helens.
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).