Mountain Weather Forecast

Stevens Pass Mountain Weather Forecast

Day and Time: Wednesday 5:30pm

Current Observations:

Storm total Precipitation: 2.4"/18" snow

Pass temperature: 33

Pass level winds:  5-10 West

Barometer:  1018 Steady

Sky: overcast with light snow

Radar: Spotty mountain showers with the leading edge of precipitation associated with the next system just reaching the coast.

The Forecast: Moderate to briefly heavy snow tonight. Mixed precip/rain with strong and gusty winds tomorrow. Partly cloudy with very light passing showers and cooling Thursday night and Friday. 

Long Range: Friday and Saturday will be relatively benign at Stevens Pass with cool temps and light snow showers. The next system in the parade arrives Sunday and will again bring heavy precipitation and a warm up. Stay tuned for details as they evolve. Beyond Sunday, storms continue to arrive every day or two into next week. 

  

The Science: Another strong triple point storm is making landfall this evening. Models have the low pressure center tracking NE once it makes landfall. The pressure gradients will be high as that happens tomorrow morning, causing strong and gusty winds to impact Western Washington. The NWS has issued wind advisories for the Puget Sound. Frontal moisture overnight will be in the form of snow, and there will be a warm sector of air causing a likely transition to rain Thursday morning. The good news is that the bulk of the moisture will have already fallen. There is another system making landfall Friday, but it currently looks to be tracking further north and its effects should go by largely unnoticed at Stevens Pass. 

    

Values from 4pm Wednesday through

 4am Thursday.

Precipitation: Tonight 12hr water: .75-1.0  snow: 8-10" Tomorrow’s 24hr water: .25  snow: trace Trend and Timing: Snow should become moderate-heavy after midnight, ending mid-morning. After 12pm Thursday the precipitation dries up.

Temperature: Low: 25    High: 34 Freezing level: 3000'- 5500' Trend and Timing: Rising free air freezing levels Tuesday morning, east flow in the pass may slow the warmup initially.

Winds Base: 5-10 E, then 15-20 W Ridge Top: 40-50+ SSW Trend and Timing: Winds will become strong and gusty Thursday morning, remaining so during the day.