Snow showers continue this morning along the west slopes of the Cascades. As the morning goes on, precipitation should taper and give us a brief break in the weather ahead of our next system.
The first sign of the approaching low pressure will come from increasing winds and a shift in direction from W to S/SE this afternoon. As the storm slides down the coast, it stalls just offshore. Precipitation rotating around the Low will then lift up into the region from the SSW. So, locations in the Olympics and South Cascades could start to see increasing snow late this afternoon. However, the main event will hold off until overnight. Moderate to heavy snow will spread across the mountains and combine with generally strong and gusty winds to create very stormy conditions. This includes locations east of the Cascade crest like Mission Ridge and Ahtanum Meadows where you could experience a significant snow event. With a generally southerly flow to the storm, it will once again favor the volcanoes as Mt St Helens and Mt Hood fall right into the bullseye for the greatest snow totals.
On Satruday, precipitation and wind speeds will slowly wane. However, S to SE winds will continue to focus snow showers along the east slopes of the Cascades from the Wenatchee mountains southward and the southern volcanoes.
Weather Forecast
Olympics
West North
West Central
West South
Stevens Pass
Snoqualmie Pass
East North
East Central
East South
Mt. Hood
Use dropdown to select your zone
Friday
Mostly cloudy with snow in the late afternoon. Winds becoming moderate SW
Friday
Night
Stormy. Strong and gust S winds with moderate snow.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Winds becoming moderate from the S.
Friday
Night
Stormy. Strong and gusty S winds with moderate to occasionally heavy S.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Winds becoming light to moderate S
Friday
Night
Stormy. Moderate to strong winds with snow, heavy at times.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with snow showers. Winds becoming moderate S .Increasing snow in the late afternoon.
Friday
Night
Stormy. Moderate to strong winds with snow, heavy at times.
Friday
Mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers. Winds becoming SE light to moderate. Light E flow developing at Pass level.
Friday
Night
Stormy with moderate to strong and gusty E-SE winds. Snow could be heavy at times. Moderate to strong E flow at Pass level.
Friday
Cloudy with snow showers. Light E flow developing. Ridgetop winds becoming SE light to moderate.
Friday
Night
Stormy with moderate to strong and gusty E-SE winds. Moderate to occasionally heavy snow. Pass level E winds could also be strong and gusty.
Friday
Partly to mostly cloudy with a few isolated snow showers.
Friday
Night
Snow developing in the evening. Moderate SE winds.
Friday
Partly cloudy in the morning with increasing clouds. Isolated snow showers near the crest. Winds becoming moderate from the S.
Friday
Night
Snow developing in the evening, with occasionally heavy precipitation in the Wenatchee Mts. Moderate to strong and gusty SE-S winds could create stormy conditions.
Friday
Becoming cloudy with isolated snow showers near the crest in the morning. Winds becoming moderate form the S.
Friday
Night
Stormy with snow developing in the evening. Moderat to strong and gusty SE-S winds. Snow would be heavy at times.
Friday
Cloudy with snow showers. Strong and gusty winds.
Friday
Night
Stormy. Very strong and gusty winds will combine with moderate to occasionally heavy snowfall.
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).