A quick-hitting round of Cascades snow wraps up Friday, then the weekend turns noticeably warmer and wetter northward before a drier, quieter stretch takes over. The tail end of Thursday’s system keeps light snow going into Thursday night, with the best refresh focused on the higher Washington Cascades and Mt Hood; snow levels climb overnight into Friday, so lower-mountain snow turns denser by daybreak Friday. A second, warmer Pacific push arrives late Saturday into Sunday, favoring Mt Baker and Whistler for the next meaningful reload, but rising snow levels will keep conditions wetter at base and best on upper mountain terrain. Looking beyond, the pattern trends drier overall with temperatures leaning mild first, then cooling some later while staying relatively low on new snowfall.
The last of the current storm brings mostly light but steady mountain snow Thursday into Thursday night, then fades Friday as snow levels rise into the 3,000–4,000 feet range in the Washington Cascades and around 3,000 feet near Mt Hood. Higher-elevation terrain does best, with Timberline picking up roughly five inches, Stevens landing around five inches, and Snoqualmie more in the 3–4 inch ballpark. Snow quality starts fair in the colder hours with SLRs generally near 10–12:1 at Stevens/Timberline, but trends denser at Snoqualmie where ratios dip into the 7–9:1 range by Friday. Winds are the main limiter for comfort on Thursday night, especially on exposed ridgelines at Timberline (strong gusts) and around Stevens (breezy), before easing into Friday.
The next system focuses the best snowfall on the far northern end of the region, with Mt Baker and Whistler clearly favored for the weekend refresh. Snow levels climb notably during this window, hovering roughly 3,700–4,100 feet around Mt Baker and about 2,900–3,700 feet around Whistler, so expect wetter lower-mountain conditions with the best turns higher up where precipitation stays predominantly snow. Totals look most impressive at Whistler (up to ~10 inches by Sunday night) and solid at Mt Baker (up to ~9 inches), but quality skews dense with SLRs commonly in the 6–10:1 range, especially on Sunday at Baker. Winds trend modest and predominantly southerly during the weekend event, so visibility and comfort should be more about moisture and density than pure wind impact.
The broader pattern shifts toward a drier overall setup for the middle of next week and beyond, with fewer chances for meaningful new snowfall across Washington and Oregon. Temperatures lean on the mild side initially, which supports consolidation and denser snowpacks at lower elevations, then trend cooler later in the extended window, particularly across Washington. Even with the late-period cooling, the overall signal still favors below-normal precipitation, so expect longer gaps between refreshes and an increasing emphasis on timing the smaller impulses that do sneak through.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Whistler – 7″–10″ Sat (01/10) – Sun night (01/11)
- Mt Baker – 6″–9″ total (2″ Thu night (01/08) – Fri (01/09) + 4″–7″ Sat night (01/10) – Sun night (01/11))
- Timberline – 4″–5″ Thu night (01/08) – Fri (01/09)
- Stevens Pass – 4″–5″ Thu (01/08) – Fri night (01/09)
- Snoqualmie Pass – 3″–4″ Thu (01/08) – Fri (01/09)
