0940 Update: Increased Mt Baker precipitation and West North ridgeline winds today.
Strong post-frontal westerly flow will persist today and keep showers going all along the west slopes of the Cascades and Mt Hood with significant spillover to the east slopes of the Cascades near the Cascade crest. An additional 4 -12 inches of snow should pile up across the mountains. An area of convergence will keep the heaviest showers focused on the west-side from the Mtn Loop Hwy down to I-90 and Snoqualmie Pass. Westerly winds will remain strong for most areas in the south and central Washington Cascades, maintaining closer to extreme winds in the Mt Hood area.
As an upper-level ridge builds offshore later tonight both winds and showers will ease. This trend should continue on Wednesday and winds will become much lighter. There should be a mix of sun and clouds on the west slopes of the Cascades and Mt Hood in the afternoon with more sunshine along the east slopes of the Cascades.
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 rain and snow showers.
Tuesday
Night
Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers tapering off after midight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with moderate rain and snow showers. Strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Strong ridgeline winds easing after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to moderate rain and snow showers. Strong ridgeline winds. Heaviest precipitation Paradise area.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Strong ridgeline winds easing after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate to strong westerly ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Moderate to strong westerly ridgeline and Pass level winds easing after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate to strong westerly ridgeline and Pass level winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate rain and snow showers tapering off after midnight. Moderate to strong westerly ridgeline and Pass level winds easing after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with scattered light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with scattered light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers tapering after midnight. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds easing after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Heaviest showers near the Cascade crest. Strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers tapering after midnight. Strong ridgeline winds easing after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers. Heaviest showers near the Cascade crest. Strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with scattered light rain and snow showers tapering after midnight. Strong ridgeline winds easing after midnight.
Tuesday
Cloudy with moderate rain and snow showers. Strong to extreme winds.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with light to moderate rain and snow showers. Strong to extreme winds easing late.
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).