A modified arctic air mass continues to settle into the region with temperatures vying for the coldest of the season in many mountain locations. Washington Pass comes in coldest at -14F with most elevated stations along the east slopes of the Cascades also below zero. Mountain stations west of the Cascade Crest are only slightly warmer, hovering near or slightly above 0F. The culprit for the cold air is a deep trough over the entire western US. A surface low has dropped south off the coast of northern California but continues to draw small amounts of cold air out of interior Canada (via the Fraser Gap) and through the mountain gaps on light E winds. However, winds remain in the moderate range with strong/extreme gusts for Mt. Hood where more upper-level forcing exists. Wind chills should stay well below zero through the morning hours and remain a serious hazard if you're traveling on Mt. Hood. Sunny skies and a gradual shift to W winds Friday afternoon and evening will allow temperatures to moderate across the region. High temperatures will rise into the 20s in most mountain locations. Temperatures will be 10-15F warmer Friday night than 24 hours prior as somewhat milder air moves in off the Pacific.
Saturday should be another mostly sunny day with clouds moving in from the NW as a frontal system approaches. SW winds increase into the moderate range for the Olympics and Baker areas late in the day. Light snowfall may start in these areas before dusk. Temperatures below seasonal norms on Saturday.
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 sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold. Light ridgeline and E wind at the Pass.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Bitterly cold to start, then moderating in the afternoon.
Friday
Night
Mostly clear and cold.
Friday
Mostly sunny. Decreasing moderate winds with strong/extreme gusts. Bitterly cold to start with dangerous wind chills, then moderating in the afternoon.
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).