A weak system dropped south overnight in northerly flow aloft, bringing about an inch or so of snow to both the lowlands and mountains. The weather system is currently near the WA/OR border, and light snow showers should continue near Mt. Hood for the remainder of the day. Ridgeline winds are moderate in the southern Cascades and Mt. Hood this morning but should quickly fall off before mid-day. Most other areas will see light flurries this morning giving way to partly to mostly sunny skies this afternoon. We'll have another cool day with 5000' temperatures generally in the low 20s.
An upper level ridge will build offshore leading to clear skies tonight and Friday. Temperatures will rebound on Friday to take some of the edge off the cold air that's been entrenched over the region. A stormier pattern is on tap for Saturday afternoon through Monday.
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
Cloudy with occasional light snow showers becoming partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon. Fewer clouds southern half of the range.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy this morning becoming partly to mostly sunny this afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy this morning becoming partly to mostly sunny this afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Cloudy with occasional light snow showers this morning. Becoming partly to mostly cloudy in the afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds this morning easing before mid-day.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with light snow flurries this morning. Becoming partly sunny in the afternoon. Variable winds at Pass level becoming light E this afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with light snow flurries this morning. Becoming partly sunny in the afternoon. Variable winds at Pass level becoming light E this afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with light snow flurries this morning. Becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon. Moderate ridgeline winds decreasing in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Partly to mostly cloudy with light snow flurries this morning. Becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy with light snow flurries this morning. Becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear.
Thursday
Cloudy with light snow showers this morning. Partly to mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers this afternoon. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds this morning easing before mid-day.
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).