Conditions appear quite stormy across most of our mountain locations this morning. A fast-moving disturbance has spread a band of moderate to heavy snow over the Olympics and Cascades. This line of precipitation should quickly swing south focussing the bulk of the precipitation from about I90 to Mt Hood. As it does so, locations to the north should see steady snow turn to showers and wind speeds significantly decrease. For locations further south, periods of heavy snow and strong winds could linger into the afternoon. The weather looks particularly stormy for Mt Hood where heavy snow and very strong to extreme winds could create challenging travel conditions with poor visibility throughout the day. By late afternoon only a few showers and much lighter winds will be all that's left of this quick storm.
Overnight a few stray showers could linger particularly in the southern Cascades. As much drier air and northerly winds enter the region we should begin to see slow clearing from North to South. This should return very cold temperatures to the mountains with lows in the teens or even single digits. While most locations begin to see a break in the weather, Mt Hood could remain quite stormy with continued snowfall and strong winds.
A high-pressure ridge pushes over the region by Friday morning finally putting an end to any leftover snow showers and helping the skies continue to clear. Some low-level clouds in the mountain valleys and pass in the morning should quickly give way to a very nice, cold, and sunny day.
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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Thursday
Snow in the morning becoming cloudy. Possible sun breaks in the afternoon. Moderate winds decreasing.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy and cold.
Thursday
Snow in the morning becoming cloudy by lunchtime. Possible sun breaks late in the day. Moderate winds quickly decreasing and becoming more northerly.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy becoming mostly clear. Cold.
Thursday
Snow, heaviest in the morning with isolated snow showers in the afternoon. A weak Puget Sound Convergence Zone is possible. Moderate winds significantly decreasing.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with some clearing overnight. Cold.
Thursday
Stormy with moderate to heavy snow particularly in the morning. Moderate to strong W winds decreasing slightly in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Scattered snow showers particularly near Mt St Helens and Mt Adams. Cloudy and cold. Generally light winds.
Thursday
Snow, heaviest in the morning. Becoming cloudy with snow showers in the afternoon. Light east flow developing at Pass level. A week Puget Sound Convergence Zone is possible.
Thursday
Night
Cloudy and cold. Isolated snow showers possible in the evening. Light westerly winds.
Thursday
Snow, heaviest in the morning. Becoming cloudy with snow showers in the afternoon. Light east flow developing at Pass level. A week Puget Sound Convergence Zone is possible.
Thursday
Night
Cloudy and cold. Isolated snow showers possible in the evening. Light to moderate westerly winds.
Thursday
Cloudy with scattered snow showers in the morning. Possible sun breaks in the afternoon. Winds significantly decreasing.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy becoming mostly clear. Low clouds in the valleys. Cold.
Thursday
Cloudy with snow showers heaviest near the crest. Moderate to strong W winds decreasing in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy becoming mostly clear with low-level clouds in the mountain valleys and passes. A few flurries possible. Cold.
Thursday
Stormy, particularly near the crest. Strong W winds decreasing slightly in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Cloudy with isolated snow showers. Cold Light to moderate NW winds.
Thursday
Stormy with periods of heavy snowfall, very strong West winds, and poor visibility.
Thursday
Night
Cloudy with moderate snow showers possible. Strong W winds decreasing slightly.
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).