MOUNTAIN WEATHER FORECAST

Time and Day: 0700 Thursday

The Snapshot:   Today expect a few clouds, some sun and a snow shower or two.  Same goes for tomorrow but with a better chance of snow tomorrow afternoon.  Saturday will be mostly dry with snow expected on Sunday.

The Science:   NW flow has brought a colder airmass with isolated snow showers riding along for fun.  Most of the moisture is happening along the southwestern slopes of the Cascades with the northern portion of the state dry.  A low-pressure trough will spin more bands of moisture into the mountains tomorrow as it makes its way south along the coastal waters.  Hopefully, Stevens will squeeze a few inches out of this before it departs into Oregon tomorrow evening. 

Another similar low-pressure system slides down the coast on Sunday with some more snow possible.  Saturday will be left in between systems with little to no moisture expected.    

The Long Range:   Long range models are in an argument on what will happen next week.  The GFS has high pressure sliding into place, confining the moisture to the north; while the ECMWF (Euro) is forecasting snow.   All will be revealed in time – go European.   

Precipitation Ending at 4am: Today 24hr water = .10 snow =trace Tomorrow’s 24hr water = .25+ snow = 2-4 Trend and Timing: A light snow shower or two will be possible today with a better chance of a few inches tomorrow afternoon.

24hr temperature ending at 4 am tomorrow:  Low: 20    High: 32 Freezing level: -2000’ Trend and Timing:    Freezing levels will be well below Pass level, but daytime recovery will be good with the aid of the sun.

24hr Winds (mph) ending at 4 am tomorrow: Base: 0-5 WNW Ridge Top: 0-10 WNW Trend and Timing: The wind will be calm and out of the WNW through tomorrow.

jM