Weather
A classic fall pattern lines up for the Pacific Northwest with a warm, wet push late this week, a colder weekend drop in snow levels, and lingering light snow into early next week. The most impressive totals favor the North Cascades and Southwestern British Columbia, while Oregon’s high volcanoes do well but contend with wind and initially higher snow levels before quality improves Saturday night into Sunday. All listed ski areas remain closed with openings slated from early November into early December, so this stretch is best viewed as base-building and snowpack priming rather than rideable powder.
Midweek serves as a brief on-ramp with only light precipitation brushing the higher Cascade crest on Wednesday. Temperatures and snow levels remain relatively high during this prelude, so any flakes stay confined to the upper elevations with modest accumulations at best. Snow quality early on would be dense given low to mid single-digit snow-to-liquid ratios (around 4–9:1 in many spots), and winds are generally manageable ahead of the primary surge. Expect the stage to reset quickly late Wednesday night as a much stronger Pacific tap approaches.
Friday into early Saturday brings the main surge, with widespread precipitation, strong southwest flow, and snow levels starting high before trending down. In Oregon, snow levels near 4,800–6,200 feet Friday step lower into the 3,700–4,400-foot range Saturday; Washington trends from roughly 4,100–4,600 feet Friday to about 3,100–3,700 feet by Saturday night, and Whistler sits lower still, often near or below 3,000 feet through the weekend. Snow is denser during the onset (SLRs commonly 4–9:1) before gradually improving as colder air filters in; that means healthy water loading and solid base building on the upper mountains. Ridge-top winds are a factor, especially around Mt. Hood where exposed summits and ridgelines can see very strong gusts Friday into Saturday (peaks in the 70–80 mph range are possible at the highest lifts), while Washington areas are breezy but less extreme, generally with gusts 20–30 mph in typical mid-mountain exposures.
Saturday night through Sunday is the quality window as colder air settles, snow levels fall to roughly 3,500–4,000 feet, and snow ratios tick up into the 10–12:1 range with localized pockets a bit higher. This favors better-textured snow on the upper halves of Mt. Baker, Stevens, and Crystal, with Whistler’s high alpine also benefitting from its lower snow levels. Oregon’s Timberline and Mt. Bachelor continue accumulating with improving feel as overnight SLRs reach the low teens; winds gradually ease from their Friday peaks. Snoqualmie’s lower elevation keeps totals smaller, but even there the cooler end of the weekend supports some accumulation on the upper slopes.
Monday through Wednesday tapers to lighter, showery leftovers, punctuated by a minor uptick Tuesday into Tuesday night in a few locales, then a fade by Wednesday. With the extended pattern still favoring Pacific onshore flow, the medium-range outlook leans cooler to near-seasonal temperatures in the Northwest with continued above-normal precipitation chances through late October into early November. Practically, that points to additional weak waves and occasional moderate refreshes, with the best odds of meaningful snow above roughly 4,000 feet and the highest yield along the Cascade crest and in southwestern British Columbia.
Resort Forecast Totals
– Mt Baker – 21”–42” FriNight (10/24)–TueNight (10/28)
– Whistler – 18”–38” ThuNight (10/23)–WedNight (10/29)
– Timberline – 18”–36” Fri (10/24)–TueNight (10/28)
– Crystal Mountain – 14”–27” Fri (10/24)–TueNight (10/28)
– Mt Bachelor – 13”–26” Fri (10/24)–Tue (10/28)
– Stevens Pass – 13”–26” FriNight (10/24)–Wed (10/29)
– Snoqualmie Pass – 5”–11” SatNight (10/25)–Mon (10/27)
