Snow continues for areas near Mt Baker and in the Olympics this morning. Most other locations are experiencing a bit of a lull in the action. This won't last too long. The next round of precipitation is already pushing across the Puget Sound. Snow should increase along the west slopes of the Cascades and Passes mid-day. While a few showers will wander farther east, there isn't great spillover to the eastern forecast zones. The other big story today will be the wind. The strongest winds will be near Hurricane Ridge, Mt Baker, and Mt Hood. However, nearly all areas will see strong and gusty winds. This could make the afternoon feel quite stormy.
Snow levels remain fairly low throughout the storm. However, cool easterly flow through the passes appears to weaken and turn west this afternoon. This will bring a slight rise in temperatures that could result in a brief period of rain at Snoqualmie Pass. Cooling overnight should return snow to most winter trailheads.
Onshore flow (west) and lingering low-level moisture keep showers going overnight and into Sunday morning. This will help add a few more inches to the storm totals for the Olympics, Mt Hood, the Passes, and west-side forecast zones. While showers should continue into Sunday morning, the overall trend will be for drying and some clearing. Expect precipitation to hang on the longest near the Canadian border. Places further south and east could see appreciable sun breaks and even blue sky in the afternoon.
Weather Forecast
Olympics
West North
West Central
West South
Stevens Pass
Snoqualmie Pass
East North
East Central
East South
Mt. Hood
Use dropdown to select your zone
Saturday
Stormy with periods of moderate to occasionally heavy snow. Very strong and gusty winds decreasing slightly.
Saturday
Night
Showers mainly in the western Olympics. Moderate to strong WSW winds decreasing.
Saturday
Stormy with moderate to occasionally heavy precipitation. Strong and gusty southerly winds.
Saturday
Night
Snow showers, could be heavy at times. Moderate to strong SW winds decreasing.
Saturday
Showers in the morning, becoming snow in the afternoon. Moderate to strong and gusty S winds turning SW.
Saturday
Night
Snow showers. Moderate winds decreasing.
Saturday
Showers in the morning, becoming snow in the afternoon. Precip could be moderate at times. Moderate to strong and gusty SW winds.
Saturday
Night
Snow showers, heaviest on the volcanoes. Moderate SW winds decreasing.
Saturday
Isolated showers in the morning, with periods of snow in the afternoon. S winds turning SW and becoming moderate at ridgeline. Light E flow at Pass level turning W with slight warming.
Saturday
Night
Snow showers. Light to moderate WSW winds. West flow at pass level.
Saturday
Isolated showers in the morning, with snow developing in the afternoon. SSW winds turning SW and becoming moderate and gusty. Light E flow at pass level, turning W and warming. Rain possible at road level.
Saturday
Night
Snow showers. Moderate WSW winds. Light W flow at Pass level.
Saturday
Cloudy with snow showers. Moderate but gusty S winds.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy with snow showers mainly near the crest. Moderate SW winds decreasing.
Saturday
Cloudy with a few sun breaks in the morning. Scattered showers, mainly in the afternoon. Moderate to strong SW winds.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy with snow showers mainly in the evening near the Crest. Strong WSW winds turning W and decreasing slightly.
Saturday
Cloudy with a few sun breaks mainly in the morning. Scattered shower in the afternoon. SW winds becoming strong and gusty.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy with showers mainly near the crest in the evening. Moderate to strong W winds decreasing slightly.
Saturday
Cloudy with showers in the morning, becoming snow in the afternoon. Strong and gusty SW winds decreasing slightly.
Saturday
Night
Cloudy with periods of snow, could be moderate to heavy at times. Strong and gusty W winds decreasing slightly.
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).