Mountain Weather Forecast

Weather Synopsis

An unseasonably cold upper trough spawned two circulation centers today; one in the vicinity of the San Juans that combined with some low-level convergence has been directing steady showers into the northwest and central-west Cascades. The broader circulation is spinning counter-clockwise south of Grays Harbor with bands of snow showers extending to Mt Hood and the south Washington Cascades on both sides of the crest. Lighter and more scattered snow showers with sunbreaks can be found in other areas.

As the upper trough digs southeast Tuesday night, we'll see a drying trend with a turn to drier northerly flow aloft.  Showers should quickly taper down for the Cascades of Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish counties and linger a bit longer into the evening for the south Washington Cascades and Mt. Hood.  The general drying and clearing trend will help mid-mountain low temperatures bottom out into the teens and even some single digits overnight. 

On Wednesday, we'll see some passing high clouds and filtered sunshine for the Washington Cascades in the morning.  A warm front around Vancouver Island will begin to increase low-level clouds along the west slopes of the Cascades, Olympics and Mt Hood in the afternoon.  A few flurries are possible later in the day, especially for the Mt Loop Hwy and north to the Canadian border.  All areas will see generally light westerly ridgeline winds ramp up quickly in the afternoon hours as the front approaches. 

The front will sag south Wednesday night with light snow overspreading the area, heaviest in the Mt Baker area, and increasing ridgeline winds. Storm conditions will ramp up quickly Thursday morning with increased snow and winds. On Thursday morning before the frontal passage we'll see a slight bump in snow levels but we don't need to worry about rain at your favorite mountain Pass or ski area base in this cold pattern. We'll quickly transition on mid-Thursday to post-frontal snow showers in blustery westerly flow. Early March will feel much like the last few weeks of February.