A strong ridge of high pressure will dominate our weather pattern over the next several days with dry and increasingly warm weather expected. This will be the last morning for several days with widespread mid-mountain temperatures below freezing. Freezing levels will jump to 9000-10000' west of the Cascade crest and 8000-9000' along the east slopes of the Cascades and Mt Hood today. This will be a major jolt to the system, but it's just the opening act, as 5000' temperatures max out in the upper 30s to 40s today. A cool N-NE breeze in the alpine will take the edge off the warming, especially along the east slopes of the Cascades and in the Mt Hood area.
Freezing levels push higher overnight and Friday, climbing to 11,000' across the area. 5000' temperatures along the west slopes of the Cascades are likely to push 50F. Increasing offshore flow and easterly winds will make for breezy conditions in the Passes on Friday but won't dampen the overall warming trend. ENE ridgeline winds will likely become moderate to locally strong along the central/south WA Cascades and the Mt Hood area on Friday, including places like Crystal Mt.
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 sunny with periods of high clouds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with a few passing high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with a few passing high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with a few passing high clouds. Periods of moderate NE ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ENE ridgeline winds. Light to moderate E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with a few passing high clouds. Periods of moderate NE ridgeline winds. Light E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with a few passing high clouds. Periods of moderate ENE ridgeline winds. Light to moderate E winds at Pass level.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with periods of high clouds. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with periods of high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with a few passing high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with a few passing high clouds. Periods of moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Mostly sunny with a few passing high clouds. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Thursday
Night
Mostly clear with a few passing high clouds. Moderate 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).