It's cold out there once again with mountain temperatures in the single digits and even a few areas below zero for areas near the Cascade crest and along the east slopes of the Cascades. We're in for another cold and sunny day today but areas further west of the Cascade crest will see some temperature moderation with daytime highs warming into the 20s vs the teens further to the east.
We'll see a ridge of high pressure sliding over the area today and crossing the Cascades tonight. A weather system will undercut this ridge on Thursday, as it approaches our coast. E-SE ridgeline winds have increased a bit earlier than expected for the West South zone and Snoqualmie Pass. The main wind event is still to come - look for increasing E-SE winds in most zones starting this afternoon, but peaking overnight through Thursday late morning. Combine this with the frigid temperatures and many areas will see dangerously low wind chills over the next 24 hours - layer up appropriately if you're headed out.
An occluded front will rotate up from the south on Thursday, bringing light snow to Mt Hood and eventually the southern and central Cascades during the day. This system should produce a few inches of snow but won't be a big weathermaker.
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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Wednesday
Sunny. Cold. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Sunny. Cold. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Sunny. Cold. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds increasing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Sunny. Cold. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Moderate ridgeline winds in the evening becoming moderate to strong after midnight.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny with a few afternoon cumulus clouds. Cold. Light to moderate E ridgeline and Pass level winds increasing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Moderate SE ridgeline and E Pass level winds.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny with a few afternoon cumulus clouds. Cold. Moderate E ridgeline and Pass level winds increasing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Moderate to occasionally strong SE ridgeline and E Pass level winds.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny with a few afternoon cumulus clouds. Cold. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Light to moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny with a few afternoon cumulus clouds. Cold. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds increasing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny with a few afternoon cumulus clouds. Cold. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds increasing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
Clear in the evening with increasing high clouds overnight. Moderate ridgeline winds.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny with a few afternoon cumulus clouds. Cold. Light to occasionally moderate ridgeline winds increasing in the afternoon.
Wednesday
Night
A few high clouds in the evening, then cloudy with high overcast late. Moderate to occasionally strong 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).