Mountain Weather Forecast

Weather Synopsis

Our next snowstorm is right on the doorstep this afternoon. High clouds have begun to slide over the northern half of the forecast region. As we head into the evening hours, clouds will continue to thicken and lower in all areas. We're in for yet another cold night. Expect low temperatures in the teens and single digets with wind chill values well below 0F. Brrrr! Light snow could begin to fall in the Olympics and near the Canadian border this evening, but the bulk of the precipitation won't arrive in other mountain areas until closer to midnight. Look for snow to spread quickly from NW to SE. While a few showers will find their way east of the Cascade Crest, the focus of this storm will fall on the west slopes of the central and southern Cascades. As the system arrives, expect the ridgetop winds to increase dramatically. More wind-prone locations like Hurricane Ridge, Mission Ridge, and Mt Hood could see very strong to extreme westerly winds. As precipitation tapers off and the system slides into Oregon, wind speeds should quickly decrease and turn more northerly. By Thursday afternoon lingering snow showers and light winds should be all that's left of the quick-moving storm. A weak Puget Sound Convergence Zone may bring localized heavier snowfall to some spots mainly between Hwy 2 and I90. However, this narrow band of precipitation looks ill-defined and doesn't seem to linger for very long. 

On Friday, skies should begin to clear especially in the northern and eastern portions of the forecast area as a high-pressure ridge tries to build over the Pacfic Northwest. A few stray showers could linger near Mt Hood, but in general, we should have dry and cold condtions in store. This break in the weather appears to extend into the weekend as drier air passes overhead between two storm systems.