Weather Synopsis for Wednesday & Thursday

The Pacific Northwest remains near the western edge of a broad trough centered over the plains of Southern Canada. This trough is touching off a few light snow showers in the Stevens Pass and southern West Central areas this morning. That should dissipate by 10 AM along with the associated band of cloud cover. Sunshine will linger for parts of northern Washington, but an approaching low and associated warm front will gradually push mid and high clouds northward. ESE winds are ramping up near the Cascade Crest as the low moves toward the mouth of the Columbia River. These winds will be in the moderate range for favored areas near and west of the Cascade Crest. Increasing snow develops in the late morning hours for Mt Hood, and pushes into southern Washington during the afternoon.

The surface low off the mouth of the Columbia merges with a lobe of the broad upper trough overnight. The light to moderate snow increases with locally heavy snowfall for the volcanoes. Expect significant accumulations in the East South Washington Cascades and Mission Ridge areas as moderate ESE winds also favor these areas. The low continues to drift toward the coastline Thursday morning, moving onshore during the afternoon. Moderate to heavy snowfall continues for the southern Washington Cascades, SE Olympics, and Mt Hood area, but tapers into the light to moderate range by the afternoon. Expect a decrease in snowfall rates heading northward from Mt Rainier and only very light snow reaching the northern Cascades.