Weather Synopsis for Saturday & Sunday

It was a stormy night across much of the forecast area, but the main front has pushed east. A few lingering convergence bands continue to bring snow mainly to locations from Snoqualmie Pass to the Mountain Loop Highway. Any showers should quickly draw to a close this morning as a subtle ridge shifts over the region. This will give us 12-18 hrs of relative calm before a major storm arrives overnight. 

On Saturday, most locations will start mostly cloudy, breezy, and with a few showers. As showers end, winds should drop, and you could even see some filtered sunshine or sunbreaks. The best chance for enjoying some sunshine will be near Hurricane Ridge and in locations further south and east in the region. High and mid clouds will start to increase late in the day as the next storm arrives on our doorstep. 

An atmospheric river will take aim at the Pacific Northwest. Weather models have been shifting this feature further and further south, increasing its impact on our forecast zones. Rain and snow start for most locations late Saturday night along with increasing winds and warming temperatures. By Sunday morning, the fire hose is squarely aimed at the Olympics and Central Washington Cascades. Expect very stormy conditions with heavy rain, gusty winds, and freezing levels quickly rising to upper elevations. Because atmospheric rivers are so narrow, a shift in the main precipitation band north or south could have a big influence on how much precipitation falls and just how warm it gets.