It's another cold morning with mountain temperatures dipping into the single digits and low teens across region. Today marks the end of our 10 day run of below-normal temperatures and freezing levels with change on the horizon. Similar to yesterday, there's a pesky area of stratus clouds in the Strait of Juan de Fuca that extends over the west slopes of the Cascades from the Canadian border to I-90 with patchier areas of low cloud elsewhere in valleys and Passes. All of the low clouds should break up and lift somewhat today, with plenty of sunshine down south and along the east slopes and partly to mostly sunny skies for the West North/West Central/Stevens/Olympic zones in the afternoon. Ridgeline winds will be light to locally moderate out of the WNW and freezing levels will rise to 3000-4500'.
Brief upper level ridging over the area on Thursday will flatten and shift east tonight allowing high and mid clouds from a warm front to push over the area with thicker clouds for northern sections and patchier skies further south. Clouds will thicken on Friday in the same geographic pattern and milder air will begin to enter the area. Freezing levels will rise to 7000' down near Mt Hood and 4000-4500' in the north. Southerly winds will become strong over the Olympics and northwest Cascades during the day and these same areas will see bouts of light to occasionally moderate rain and snow while other areas stay dry on Friday.
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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Thursday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon. Increasing high clouds late.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy in the evening, then cloudy after midnight with a chance of light rain or snow late. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate overnight.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly cloudy in the evening, then cloudy after midnight with a slight chance of light rain or snow late. Ridgeline winds becoming moderate overnight.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Partly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy after midnight with increasing high and mid clouds.
Thursday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Partly cloudy in the evening, becoming mostly cloudy after midnight with increasing high and mid clouds.
Thursday
Partly to mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon. Light to occasionally moderate WNW ridgeline winds, light winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Partly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy after midnight with increasing high and mid clouds. Light WNW ridgeline winds and light east wind at Pass level.
Thursday
Partly to mostly cloudy in the morning, becoming partly to mostly sunny in the afternoon. Light to moderate WNW ridgeline winds and at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Partly cloudy in the evening, becoming cloudy after midnight with increasing high and mid clouds. Light WNW ridgeline winds and light east wind at Pass level.
Thursday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear, becoming partly to mostly cloudy with increasing high clouds in the evening.
Thursday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear, becoming partly cloudy with increasing high clouds after midnight. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Partly to mostly sunny in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear, becoming partly cloudy with increasing high clouds after midnight. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear, becoming partly cloudy with increasing high clouds after midnight.
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).