Weather
An active Pacific Northwest pattern continues through Monday night, with snow levels starting high and then steadily dropping to improve snow quality late in the weekend. The biggest accumulations stack up at Whistler and on Mt Hood, while the Washington Cascades see a wetter start that transitions to more consistently snowy conditions as snow levels fall. Expect the densest snow early (especially near the passes), with SLRs generally improving into the 10–14:1 range by late Sunday into Monday for better, more skiable powder. Winds look like the main on-mountain issue at the Central Oregon and Mt Hood volcano resorts, where strong gusts could impact lift operations during the heart of the weekend storm.
Thursday night into Friday brings a mixed-bag start for the Washington Cascades, with pass-level temperatures flirting with freezing and a brief window of poorer snow quality. At Stevens Pass, light new snow early is paired with very dense to borderline wet snow characteristics (SLRs around 6–7:1) while snow levels hover near 4,900–5,400 feet, so lower elevations are vulnerable to rain or mixed precipitation. Snoqualmie Pass does not see its main storm until later, but the overall setup favors marginal temps near the base early in the period. Winds during this first phase are not the headline at the Washington resorts, staying relatively modest compared to what arrives over the weekend.
The main event runs Friday night through Monday night, bringing widespread snowfall with the best outcomes where snow levels crash late and lift the snow quality with them. Snow levels are elevated early in the storm (roughly 4,000–5,900 feet depending on location), so the first half skews wetter and denser at lower elevations, with SLRs commonly in the 7–10:1 range. By Sunday night into Monday, snow levels drop sharply (down near 1,200–1,300 feet at Whistler and closer to 2,300–3,900 feet across much of the Cascades), and SLRs improve into the 10–14:1 range, so snow quality trends from dense to more moderate and increasingly pleasant. Whistler stands out for consistent accumulation and improving quality late, while Timberline also does very well but with a notably windier profile.
Looking beyond Monday, another round of mountain snow is favored Tuesday into Wednesday, and the broader pattern hints at near-normal temperatures with an early-lean wet window followed by a drier shift. The midweek setup supports additional snowfall chances with snow levels trending lower than the weekend’s start, which is a positive signal for preserving snow rather than mixing with rain at pass elevations. In the Jan 7–11 window, the background pattern favors near-normal temperatures in Washington and Oregon with a wetter tilt, keeping additional snow chances on the table. By the Jan 9–15 window, the signal trends drier for Washington and Oregon overall, suggesting more breaks between systems even if temperatures remain close to seasonal.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Whistler – 12″–17″ Fri night (01/02) – Mon night (01/05)
- Timberline – 11″–17″ Fri night (01/02) – Mon night (01/05)
- Mt Baker – 11″–16″ Sat (01/03) – Mon night (01/05)
- Crystal Mountain – 9″–14″ Fri night (01/02) – Mon night (01/05)
- Stevens Pass – 9″–13″ total (2″ Thu night (01/01) – Fri (01/02) + 7″–11″ Fri night (01/02) – Mon night (01/05))
- Snoqualmie Pass – 4″–7″ Sat night (01/03) – Mon night (01/05)
- Mt Bachelor – 4″–6″ Fri night (01/02) – Mon night (01/05)
