Wednesday should shape up to be a very beautiful day out in the mountains with plenty of sunshine. A high-pressure ridge in the eastern Pacific will expand over the region today and bring with it significantly warmer air. So, while some locations will start the day socked in with clouds, expect clearing skies, increasing temperatures, and decreasing winds.
Overnight clear skies will allow temperature inversions to form in the mountain valleys and passes. This could cause patchy fog to form in a few locations, especially near lakes and rivers. At mid and upper elevations, however, temperatures should remain quite warm. Winds will slowly increase overnight and into Thursday out ahead of our next storm. A short-wave system will approach the region from the north. While precipitation seems to hold off until after sunset, expect increasing clouds and windier conditions in the afternoon.
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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Wednesday
Mostly sunny with warming temperatures.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear and warm.
Wednesday
Becoming mostly sunny with warming temperatures.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear and warm, with patch fog in the mountain valleys.
Wednesday
Becoming mostly sunny with warming temperatures.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear and warm, with patchy fog and inversions in the mountain valleys and passes.
Wednesday
Becoming mostly sunny with warming temperatures. Moderate NNW winds decreasing during the morning.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear and warm with some patchy fog and inversions in the mountain valleys and passes. Winds becoming moderate from the NW.
Wednesday
Foggy in the morning with clearing. Becoming mostly sunny and warming. Light westerly flow at Pass level.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear and warm. Inversions and patchy fog developing in the Pass. Light westerly flow at Pass level.
Wednesday
Foggy in the morning with clearing. Becoming mostly sunny and warm. Moderate NW winds decreasing.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear and warm. Inversions and patchy fog developing. NW winds becoming moderate.
Wednesday
Becoming sunny with rising temperatures. Light to moderate N winds decreasing.
Wednesday
Night
Mostly clear with some patchy fog and valley inversions.
Wednesday
Sunny and warm. Light to moderate N winds decreasing during the day.
Wednesday
Night
Clear and warm. Patchy fog and inversions in the mountain valleys and passes. NW winds becoming light to moderate.
Wednesday
Sunny and warm.Light to moderate N winds decreasing during the day.
Wednesday
Night
Clear and warm. Patchy fog and inversions in the mountain valleys and passes. NW winds becoming light to moderate.
Wednesday
Sunny and warm. Light to moderate N winds decreasing during the day.
Wednesday
Night
Clear and warm. Temperature inversions and patchy fog possible in the mountain valleys. Winds becoming NW light to moderate.
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).