Updated 740 AM: Saturday's precipitation forecast for Snoqualmie Pass, Stevens Pass, and Mt. Baker.
SW winds brought mild air into our region Thursday night ahead of a stalled and weak frontal system in our nearshore waters. Most areas have temperatures in the 30s and 40s early Friday morning, temperatures with light winds, deep valleys in the northeastern Cascades have seen much colder temperatures dropping into the upper teens at Washington Pass. Temperatures across the eastern slopes of the Cascades should warm above freezing by the afternoon while subtle cooling west of the Cascade Crest may reduce temperatures slightly in some areas. High and mid-level clouds continue to stream across our region, yielding mostly cloudy skies with periods of filtered sunshine. Clouds should lower and thicken Friday night as the front moves to the coast by dawn, bringing some light rain and snow into the Olympic Mountains.
Periods of very light rain and snow should spread throughout the west slopes of the Washington Cascades Saturday morning. Slightly cooler air should allow for snow down to 3500-4000 ft in the Mt. Baker area and 3500-4000 ft in the Snoqualmie Pass area when the snow starts. However, temperatures should warm as an offshore low lifts the front northward as a warm front during the late morning and afternoon hours with snow levels rising to 5000-6000 ft.
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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Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening. A chance of very light rain or snow developing in the early morning hours.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine. Light E wind becoming variable at the Pass.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening. Light and variable winds at the Pass.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine. Light E wind becoming variable at the Pass.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening. Light and variable winds at the Pass.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with clouds decreasing slightly to reveal filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening.
Friday
Mostly cloudy then becoming partly cloudy with filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening.
Friday
Mostly cloudy then becoming partly cloudy with filtered sunshine.
Friday
Night
Mostly cloudy with clouds lowering and thickening.
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).