A weak front draped over Vancouver Island and the Olympic Peninsula early Tuesday morning will move through the area with a few hours of very light snow. Expect a trace to 1" of snow for Mt. Baker south to Mt. St. Helens with minimal spillover onto the east slopes of the Cascades. Most areas should be dry, but mostly cloudy by the afternoon with W winds continuing, but ramping down slightly during the mid-day hours. Temperatures moderated significantly over the last 24 hours as light to moderate W winds (strong at Mt. Hood) started bringing in milder air from the Pacific Ocean and mixing the cold pool east of the Cascades.
An E-W oriented warm front moves into northern Washington State late Tuesday evening and could bring some light snow to the Mt. Baker area overnight - another trace to an inch of accumulation.
The warm front lifts north of the area early Wednesday as a developing low offshore amplifies a broad ridge over our region. This should yield a mostly cloudy but dry day. Expect a better chance of sun breaks in the southern parts of the forecast region.
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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Tuesday
Very light snow during the morning hours, then remaining cloudy.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy.
Tuesday
Very light snow during the morning hours, then remaining cloudy.
Tuesday
Night
Increasing chances of very light snow.
Tuesday
Very light snow during the morning hours, then remaining cloudy.
Tuesday
Night
Cloudy with a slight chance of very light snow.
Tuesday
Very light snow in before 10 AM, then remaining cloudy.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy.
Tuesday
Very light snow during the morning hours, then remaining cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and variable or E wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Very light snow during the morning hours, then remaining cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and light W wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy. Light to moderate ridgeline and variable or E wind at the Pass.
Tuesday
Light snow possible during the morning hours, then remaining mostly cloudy.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy.
Tuesday
Light snow possible during the morning hours, then remaining mostly cloudy.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy.
Tuesday
Light snow possible during the morning hours, then remaining mostly cloudy.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy.
Tuesday
A chance of very light rain or snow early, then mostly cloudy. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
Tuesday
Night
Mostly cloudy. Moderate to strong ridgeline winds.
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).