Mountain Weather Forecast

Weather Synopsis

Even though it's a lovely afternoon across most of our forecast region, the weather is changing and conditions will look quite different 24 hours from now. The high pressure ridge responsible for today's partly to mostly sunny skies and generally light winds will push inland this evening. Clouds will quickly increase in the Olympics and northern forecast zones before spreading south overnight. This blanket of clouds should keep temperatures mild further north, while a few hours of partly clear skies allows areas further south and east to cool. 

A narrow atmospheric river takes aim at Vancouver Island Friday night. While the main fire hose of moisture stays just to our north, it will clip the northern Olympic Mountains and North Cascades. Look for a few showers to develop around midnight before steady rain and snow set in early Saturday morning. While most other locations should stay dry, because this is a relatively sharp and narrow band of precipitation, small changes in its positions could mean significantly more or less water. Even if the storm doesn't bring precipitation to your area on Saturday, you'll surely notice the winds. Expect ridgeline winds to increase and become gusty across the whole region. Places like Hurrican Ridge, Mt Baker, Mt St Helens, and Mt Hood could see the strongest speeds. 

This pattern of precipitation further north, gusty winds, cloudy skies, and relatively mild temperatures should hold Saturday, overnight, and through much of Sunday. Eventually, the system begins to drift inland sometime during the day. Weather models disagree on exactly when that will happen. If it's later in the afternoon, you might make it through most of the day dry. Overall, Sunday looks like another cloudy, windy, and relatively mild day for most locations.