A weak ridge over the region should bring mostly sunny skies (with filtered sunshine) to the region on Thursday. Cool air filtered into the region behind late Wednesday's frontal passage, leaving most mountain locations in the 20s early Thursday. Temperatures should rebound quickly during the day with freezing levels rising to 4500 in the north and up to 9500 ft near Mt. Hood. A surface high pressure should drive some increasing light E winds through the mountain gaps. Ridgeline winds should remain light.
Thursday night, the ridge axis shifts east of the region, allowing a few more mid and high clouds into the region.
On Friday, a weak disturbance lingers in the nearshore waters ahead of a broader trough offshore. Freezing levels should remain elevated with little change from Thursday afternoon. Ridgeline winds remain mostly light, but switch to the SW.
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
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mosty cloudy with thin high clouds.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mosty cloudy with thin high clouds.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with thin high clouds.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with thin high clouds.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon. Increasing light E wind at the Pass.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy with thin high clouds. Decreasing light E wind at the Pass.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon. Increasing light E wind at the Pass.
Thursday
Night
Mosty cloudy with thin high clouds. Decreasing light E wind at the Pass.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mosty cloudy with thin high clouds.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mosty cloudy with thin high clouds.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with increasing mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Partly cloudy with thin high clouds.
Thursday
Filtered sunshine in the morning with a few mid and high clouds in the afternoon.
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).