Issued: 2:02 PM PDT Friday, April 20, 2018
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 Friday & Thursday

High clouds are rapidly increasing over the area Friday afternoon as a Pacific frontal system advance towards our region. Light warm frontal precipitation should glance the area overnight as snow levels lower and crest level winds increase.

A burst of light to moderate precipitation with the frontal passage through the Cascades around 5 am should be followed by a cold and showery morning. The second half of Saturday should still be seasonally cool, but sunbreaks should begin to pop out by mid-day. Breezy winds in the morning should also slowly decrease in the afternoon. New snowfall accumulations above 3500 ft should locally be the highest in the Mt. Baker area and near and north of Stevens Pass where a Puget Sound Convergence Zone is expected to form in the morning. Mt. Hood will not pick up much new snow from this system. 

Isolated showers should come to end Saturday night, but there may be a fair amount of high clouds overnight as an upper level trough approaches the area.

Weather Forecast

Olympics
Friday Afternoon Overcast with high clouds. Mild.
Friday Night Cloudy with light to occasionally moderate rain and snow developing. Slow cooling trend. Increasing winds.
Saturday Light rain and snow showers in the morning. Mostly cloudy with isolated light showers in the afternoon. Windy in the morning, decreasing in the afternoon. Cooler.
Washington Cascades near and west of the Crest including Stevens, Snoqualmie and White Passes
Friday Afternoon Overcast with high clouds. Mild.
Friday Night Cloudy with light rain and snow developing after midnight, occasionally moderate Mt. Baker area. Slow cooling trend. Increasing alpine winds.
Saturday Light to occasionally moderate rain and snow showers in the morning, heaviest Mt. Baker area and in the convergence zone near and north of Stevens Pass. Scattered light showers in the afternoon, mostly cloudy north Cascades and partly to mostly cloudy central and south Cascades. Windy in the morning, decreasing in the afternoon. Cooler.
East Slopes of the Washington Cascades
Friday Afternoon Mostly cloudy with increasing high clouds. Mild.
Friday Night Cloudy with light rain and snow developing after midnight. Slow cooling trend. Increasing alpine winds.
Saturday Light rain and snow showers in the morning, heaviest near the crest central and north Cascades. Partly cloudy with isolated light showers in the afternoon. Windy. Cooler.
Mt. Hood
Friday Afternoon Mostly cloudy with increasing high clouds. Mild.
Friday Night Cloudy with light rain and snow developing late tonight. Slow cooling trend. Increasing alpine winds.
Saturday Light rain and snow showers in the morning, becoming partly to mostly cloudy with isolated light showers in the afternoon. Windy. Cooler.

Snow/Freezing Level (ft)

Hurricane Ridge Mt. Baker Washington Pass Leavenworth Stevens Pass Snoqualmie Pass Mt. Rainier, Crystal & White Pass Mt. Hood
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level 6500' 6500' 7000' ' ' 7500' ' 9000'
Friday Night Snow Level 4000' 4000' 4500' ' ' 4500' ' 4500'
Saturday Morning Snow Level 3000' 3000' 3000' ' ' 3000' ' 4000'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level 3500' 3500' 4500' ' ' 3500' ' 4500'
Hurricane Ridge Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
6500'
Friday Night Snow Level
4000'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
3000'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
3500'
Saturday Night Snow Level
3000'
Mt. Baker Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
6500'
Friday Night Snow Level
4000'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
3000'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
3500'
Saturday Night Snow Level
3000'
Washington Pass Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
7000'
Friday Night Snow Level
4500'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
3000'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
4500'
Saturday Night Snow Level
3000'
Leavenworth Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
'
Friday Night Snow Level
'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
'
Saturday Night Snow Level
'
Stevens Pass Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
'
Friday Night Snow Level
'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
'
Saturday Night Snow Level
'
Snoqualmie Pass Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
7500'
Friday Night Snow Level
4500'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
3000'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
3500'
Saturday Night Snow Level
3000'
Mt. Rainier & Crystal Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
'
Friday Night Snow Level
'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
'
Saturday Night Snow Level
'
Mt. Hood Elevation
Friday Afternoon Freezing Level
9000'
Friday Night Snow Level
4500'
Saturday Morning Snow Level
4000'
Saturday Afternoon Snow Level
4500'
Saturday Night Snow Level
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.

Precipitation Forecast

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

Free Winds at 5000' (mph)

Hurricane Ridge Mt. Baker Stevens to Snoqualmie Pass Mt. Rainier Mt. Hood
Friday Afternoon S 10 - 20 SW 10 - 20 WSW 5 - 15 --- - SW 10 - 20
Friday Night SW 20 - 30 S 15 - 30 SSW 10 - 20 --- - SW 15 - 25
Saturday Morning WSW 10 - 20 SW 20 - 30 SW 25 - 35 --- - WSW 25 - 35
Saturday Afternoon WSW 10 - 20 SW 10 - 20 W 15 - 25 --- - WNW 15 - 25
Hurricane Ridge Elevation
Friday Afternoon S 10 - 20
Friday Night SW 20 - 30
Saturday Morning WSW 10 - 20
Saturday Afternoon WSW 10 - 20
Saturday Night NW 0 - 10
Mt. Baker Elevation
Friday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Friday Night S 15 - 30
Saturday Morning SW 20 - 30
Saturday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Saturday Night NW 0 - 10
Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass Elevation
Friday Afternoon WSW 5 - 15
Friday Night SSW 10 - 20
Saturday Morning SW 25 - 35
Saturday Afternoon W 15 - 25
Saturday Night NW 5 - 15
Mt. Rainier Elevation
Friday Afternoon --- -
Friday Night --- -
Saturday Morning --- -
Saturday Afternoon --- -
Saturday Night --- -
Mt. Hood Elevation
Friday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Friday Night SW 15 - 25
Saturday Morning WSW 25 - 35
Saturday Afternoon WNW 15 - 25
Saturday Night WNW 5 - 15
Hurricane Ridge Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon S 10 - 20
Friday Night SW 20 - 30
Saturday Morning WSW 10 - 20
Saturday Afternoon WSW 10 - 20
Saturday Night NW 0 - 10
Mt. Baker Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Friday Night S 15 - 30
Saturday Morning SW 20 - 30
Saturday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Saturday Night NW 0 - 10
Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon WSW 5 - 15
Friday Night SSW 10 - 20
Saturday Morning SW 25 - 35
Saturday Afternoon W 15 - 25
Saturday Night NW 5 - 15
Mt. Rainier Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon --- -
Friday Night --- -
Saturday Morning --- -
Saturday Afternoon --- -
Saturday Night --- -
Mt. Hood Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon SW 10 - 20
Friday Night SW 15 - 25
Saturday Morning WSW 25 - 35
Saturday Afternoon WNW 15 - 25
Saturday Night WNW 5 - 15

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
Friday Afternoon S 15 - 25 SSW 10 - 20 SSW 20 - 30 --- - SW 15 - 25
Friday Night SSW 30 - 40 SW 30 - 40 SW 35 - 45 --- - SW 40 - 50
Saturday Morning SW 30 - 40 WSW 40 - 50 WSW 35 - 45 --- - W 35 - 45
Saturday Afternoon W 20 - 30 W 25 - 35 W 30 - 40 --- - W 15 - 30
Mt. Baker Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon S 15 - 25
Friday Night SSW 30 - 40
Saturday Morning SW 30 - 40
Saturday Afternoon W 20 - 30
Saturday Night NW 5 - 15
Washington Pass Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon SSW 10 - 20
Friday Night SW 30 - 40
Saturday Morning WSW 40 - 50
Saturday Afternoon W 25 - 35
Saturday Night NW 5 - 15
Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon SSW 20 - 30
Friday Night SW 35 - 45
Saturday Morning WSW 35 - 45
Saturday Afternoon W 30 - 40
Saturday Night NW 10 - 20
Mt. Rainier Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon --- -
Friday Night --- -
Saturday Morning --- -
Saturday Afternoon --- -
Saturday Night --- -
Mt. Hood Direction - Speed
Friday Afternoon SW 15 - 25
Friday Night SW 40 - 50
Saturday Morning W 35 - 45
Saturday Afternoon W 15 - 30
Saturday Night W 10 - 20

Extended Weather Synopsis for Thursday night through Thursday

A dry upper level trough will pass through the area mid-day. Expect a fair amount of afternoon cloudiness along the Olympics and west slopes of the Cascades Sunday afternoon due to afternoon heating and onshore flow, but otherwise dry and slightly warmer conditions are expected.   

Monday and Tuesday will be quite warm as a strong upper level ridge builds over the area and slowly becomes centered over the inland PNW. Freezing levels will climb Monday and push well above 10K feet on Tuesday. There may be periods of moderate N-NE alpine winds from roughly Snoqualmie Pass to Mt. Hood as the flow becomes offshore. 

Extended Weather

Olympics, Washington Cascades and Mt. Hood Area
Sunday Partly cloudy Olympics and West Slopes of the Cascades. Mostly sunny Mt. Hood and east slopes of the Cascades. Gradual warming trend. Monday Becoming warm and sunny. Tuesday Warm and sunny. Sunday Night Mostly clear. Monday Night Mild and clear.

Extended Snow/Freezing Levels

Mt. Baker Snoqualmie Pass Mt. Hood Easterly Flow *
Sunday Freezing Level 5000' - 6000' 5000' - 6000' 7000' - 8000'
Sunday Night Freezing Level 5000' - 6000' 5000' - 6000' 7000' - 8000'
Monday Freezing Level 8000' - 9000' 7500' - 9000' 8000' - 9000'
Monday Night Freezing Level 10000' - 11000' 10000' - 11000' 11000' - 12000'
Mt. Baker Elevation
Sunday Freezing Level
5000' - 6000'
Sunday Night Freezing Level
5000' - 6000'
Monday Freezing Level
8000' - 9000'
Monday Night Freezing Level
10000' - 11000'
Tuesday Freezing Level
10500' - 11500'
Snoqualmie Pass Elevation
Sunday Freezing Level
5000' - 6000'
Sunday Night Freezing Level
5000' - 6000'
Monday Freezing Level
7500' - 9000'
Monday Night Freezing Level
10000' - 11000'
Tuesday Freezing Level
11000' - 12000'
Mt. Hood Elevation
Sunday Freezing Level
7000' - 8000'
Sunday Night Freezing Level
7000' - 8000'
Monday Freezing Level
8000' - 9000'
Monday Night Freezing Level
11000' - 12000'
Tuesday Freezing Level
11000' - 12000'

* 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 Apr 19, 2018

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.