Moisture associated with a weak warm front draped over northern Washington has mostly moved east of the region as of 7 AM Wednesday morning. The northward-lifting warm front should exit north into Canada, cutting off any lingering chances for snow flurries by mid-morning. WSW winds continue across the region, with most areas a few degrees milder than this time yesterday. Inversions remain along the east slopes of the Cascades, but these continue to thin as milder air moves into the region. A west coast ridge expands on Wednesday, bringing thinning, but mostly cloudy skies for much of the region. Temperatures continue to warm on Wednesday with most of the west slopes of the Cascades experiencing above-freezing temperatures for high temperatures. However, temperatures remain cooler east of the Cascade Crest with a low-level inversion perhaps starting to thicken as light E winds redevelop Wednesday afternoon.
Dry conditions continue Wednesday night and Thursday as an offshore system moves east toward our region and begins to shift the high pressure. Expect partly cloudy skies Wednesday night with high clouds lowering and thickening on Thursday. Freezing levels should rise above Cascade Crest level for many areas during this time frame. Expect high temperatures in the 30s and 40s on Thursday with E flow keeping cooler temperatures near and east of the passes below around 4000 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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Wednesday
Mostly cloudy.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy.
Wednesday
Cloudy to start with a few snow flurries early, then becoming mostly cloudy.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with increasing chances of sun breaks in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with increasing chances of sun breaks in the afternoon. Light ridgeline and variable shifting E wind at the Pass.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy with increasing chances of sun breaks in the afternoon. Light ridgeline and variable shifting E wind at the Pass.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Wednesday
Cloudy to start with a few snow flurries early, then becoming mostly cloudy.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Partly cloudy.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. Moderate to strong winds on the east slopes of Mt. Hood.
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).