Issued: 1:29 PM PST Saturday, December 26, 2015
by Dennis D'Amico

Jump to: Weather Forecast I Snow/Freezing Level I Precipitation I Free Winds 5k I Free Winds 9k I Extended Weather

Weather Synopsis for Saturday & Tuesday

Saturday should be a mostly quiet and dry day weather wise as a frontal system over Vancouver Island slowly sags southward. Temperatures on the east side of the Cascades are fairly chilly this morning with widespread single digit readings. Increasing high and mid clouds will move over the area by later this morning or early afternoon as cloud cover spreads out ahead of the main frontal band. 

The jet stream should push the bulk of this system into northern California Sunday, and the front will become more N-S oriented as it slowly pushes inland during the day. Light snow with a few periods of moderate precipitation are likely by Sunday afternoon before turning to light post-frontal showers Sunday night. Snow levels will remain low through the weekend.  

Weather Forecast

Olympics, Washington Cascades near and west of the crest including Stevens, Snoqualmie, and White Passes and Mt. Hood
Saturday Afternoon - Saturday Night

Cloudy. Occasional light snow developing Olympics and north Cascades late Saturday night. 
Sunday

Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate snow.  
Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy with light snow showers. 
East slopes of the Washington Cascades
Saturday Afternoon - Saturday Night

Cloudy. Occasional light snow developing late tonight. 
Sunday

Cloudy with light snow.  
Sunday Night

Mostly cloudy with light snow showers. 

Issued: 1:29 PM PST Saturday, December 26, 2015

Snow/Freezing Level (ft)

Hurricane Ridge Mt. Baker Washington Pass Leavenworth Stevens Pass Snoqualmie Pass Mt. Rainier, Crystal & White Pass Mt. Hood
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level * 2000' 1000' 0' ' ' 1000' ' 2000'
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level 3000' 2000' 1000' ' ' 1500' ' 2000'
Hurricane Ridge Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
2000'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
3000'
Mt. Baker Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
1000'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
2000'
Washington Pass Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
0'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
1000'
Leavenworth Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
'
Stevens Pass Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
'
Snoqualmie Pass Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
1000'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
1500'
Mt. Rainier & Crystal Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
'
Mt. Hood Elevation
Saturday Afternoon - Sunday Morning Snow Level
2000'
(Easterly Flow *)
Sunday Afternoon - Sunday Night Snow Level
2000'

* Easterly flow in the Cascade Passes can cause locally lower Snow or Freezing levels than areas further west.
Freezing Level is when no precipitation is forecast.

Precipitation Forecast

Tuesday Tuesday
Hurricane Ridge LT 0.10 LT 0.25
Mt Baker Ski Area LT 0.10 0.25 - 0.50
Washington Pass LT 0.10 LT 0.25
Stevens Pass LT 0.10 0.25 - 0.50
Snoqualmie Pass LT 0.10 0.25 - 0.50
Mission Ridge LT 0.10 LT 0.25
Crystal Mt LT 0.10 LT 0.25
Paradise LT 0.25 0 - 0.50
White Pass LT 0.10 LT 0.25
Mt Hood Meadows LT 0.10 0 - 0.50
Timberline LT 0.10 0.50 - 0.75

LT = less than; WE or Water equivalent is the liquid water equivalent of melted snow in hundredths of inches. As a rough approximation 1 inch of snow = about .10 inches WE, or 10 inches of snow = about 1 inch WE.

Issued: 1:29 PM PST Saturday, December 26, 2015

Free Winds at 5000' (mph)

Hurricane Ridge Mt. Baker Stevens to Snoqualmie Pass Mt. Rainier Mt. Hood
Saturday Afternoon S 0 - 10 S 0 - 10 SE 5 - 15 --- - S 0 - 10
Saturday Night S 10 - 20 SSE 10 - 20 SE 5 - 15 --- - SE 5 - 15
Sunday Afternoon SW 5 - 15 S 5 - 15 SE 5 - 15 --- - SW 5 - 15
Sunday Night NW 0 - 10 W 0 - 10 W 0 - 10 --- - NW 0 - 10
Sunday Morning S 15 - 30 SSE 15 - 25 SE 10 - 20 --- - S 10 - 20
Hurricane Ridge Elevation
Saturday Afternoon S 0 - 10
Saturday Night S 10 - 20
Sunday Afternoon SW 5 - 15
Sunday Night NW 0 - 10
Sunday Morning S 15 - 30
Mt. Baker Elevation
Saturday Afternoon S 0 - 10
Saturday Night SSE 10 - 20
Sunday Afternoon S 5 - 15
Sunday Night W 0 - 10
Sunday Morning SSE 15 - 25
Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass Elevation
Saturday Afternoon SE 5 - 15
Saturday Night SE 5 - 15
Sunday Afternoon SE 5 - 15
Sunday Night W 0 - 10
Sunday Morning SE 10 - 20
Mt. Rainier Elevation
Saturday Afternoon --- -
Saturday Night --- -
Sunday Afternoon --- -
Sunday Night --- -
Sunday Morning --- -
Mt. Hood Elevation
Saturday Afternoon S 0 - 10
Saturday Night SE 5 - 15
Sunday Afternoon SW 5 - 15
Sunday Night NW 0 - 10
Sunday Morning S 10 - 20
Hurricane Ridge Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon S 0 - 10
Saturday Night S 10 - 20
Sunday Afternoon SW 5 - 15
Sunday Night NW 0 - 10
Sunday Morning S 15 - 30
Mt. Baker Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon S 0 - 10
Saturday Night SSE 10 - 20
Sunday Afternoon S 5 - 15
Sunday Night W 0 - 10
Sunday Morning SSE 15 - 25
Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon SE 5 - 15
Saturday Night SE 5 - 15
Sunday Afternoon SE 5 - 15
Sunday Night W 0 - 10
Sunday Morning SE 10 - 20
Mt. Rainier Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon --- -
Saturday Night --- -
Sunday Afternoon --- -
Sunday Night --- -
Sunday Morning --- -
Mt. Hood Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon S 0 - 10
Saturday Night SE 5 - 15
Sunday Afternoon SW 5 - 15
Sunday Night NW 0 - 10
Sunday Morning S 10 - 20

Directions above indicate the direction the wind blows from on the 16-point cardinal scale. These winds indicate "free" winds, or those winds in the atmosphere not influenced by terrain. Topographical effects may produce greater or lower wind speeds in certain locations as well as significant variations in direction.

Free Winds at 9000' (mph)

Mt. Baker Washington Pass Stevens to Snoqualmie Pass Mt. Rainier Mt. Hood
Saturday Afternoon SW 5 - 15 SW 10 - 20 WSW 15 - 25 --- - SW 10 - 20
Saturday Night - Sunday Mid-day SW 20 - 30 SW 15 - 25 SW 25 - 35 --- - SW 25 - 40
Sunday Afternoon SW 20 - 30 SW 20 - 30 SW 20 - 30 --- - WSW 15 - 25
Sunday Night NW 5 - 15 NW 10 - 20 NW 10 - 20 --- - NW 10 - 20
Mt. Baker Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon SW 5 - 15
Saturday Night - Sunday Mid-day SW 20 - 30
Sunday Afternoon SW 20 - 30
Sunday Night NW 5 - 15
Washington Pass Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Saturday Night - Sunday Mid-day SW 15 - 25
Sunday Afternoon SW 20 - 30
Sunday Night NW 10 - 20
Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon WSW 15 - 25
Saturday Night - Sunday Mid-day SW 25 - 35
Sunday Afternoon SW 20 - 30
Sunday Night NW 10 - 20
Mt. Rainier Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon --- -
Saturday Night - Sunday Mid-day --- -
Sunday Afternoon --- -
Sunday Night --- -
Mt. Hood Direction - Speed
Saturday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Saturday Night - Sunday Mid-day SW 25 - 40
Sunday Afternoon WSW 15 - 25
Sunday Night NW 10 - 20

Directions above indicate the direction the wind blows from on the 16-point cardinal scale. These winds indicate "free" winds, or those winds in the atmosphere not influenced by terrain. Topographical effects may produce greater or lower wind speeds in certain locations as well as significant variations in direction.

Issued: 1:29 PM PST Saturday, December 26, 2015

Extended Weather Synopsis for Tuesday night through Tuesday

Scattered showers should stick over the area Monday as we remain in NW flow aloft on the backside of the longwave trough digging into Nevada. A poorly defined low pressure system is forecast to approach from the NW on Tuesday, increasing clouds and spreading light precipitation over the area by late afternoon or overnight. There was decent forecast model agreement that the more moderate shot of precipitation would largely miss the north Cascades and focus on the south Washington Cascades and Mt. Hood, however the 12Z GFS run has significantly weakened this system. A much drier pattern still looks likely to take hold by late next week.  

Extended Weather

Olympics, Washington Cascades and Mt. Hood
Monday - Monday Night

Mostly cloudy with light snow showers decreasing overnight with partial clearing. 

Tuesday

Partly cloudy.  Increasing clouds Tuesday afternoon. 

Tuesday Night - Wednesday

Light rain and snow, except periods of moderate rain and snow central and south Washington Cascades and Mt. Hood. Snow decreasing later Wednesday afternoon. Gradual warming trend Wednesday. 

Extended Snow/Freezing Levels

Mt. Baker Snoqualmie Pass Mt. Hood Easterly Flow *
Monday - Tuesday Snow Level 1000' - 2000' 1000' - 2000' 1500' - 2500'
Wednesday Snow Level 2000' - 3000' 2000' - 4000' 2500' - 4000'
Mt. Baker Elevation
Monday - Tuesday Snow Level
1000' - 2000'
Wednesday Snow Level
2000' - 3000'
Snoqualmie Pass Elevation
Monday - Tuesday Snow Level
1000' - 2000'
Wednesday Snow Level
2000' - 4000'
Mt. Hood Elevation
Monday - Tuesday Snow Level
1500' - 2500'
Wednesday Snow Level
2500' - 4000'

* Easterly flow in the Cascade Passes can cause locally lower Snow or Freezing levels than areas further west.
Freezing Level is when no precipitation is forecast.

Jump to: Weather Forecast I Snow/Freezing Level I Precipitation I Free Winds 5k I Free Winds 9k I Extended Weather

Previous forecast from Dec 26, 2015

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.