Weather
The PNW stays mostly quiet through Monday, then the most reliable snow window arrives Tuesday evening through Thursday afternoon with the best totals on Mt. Hood and moderate refreshes elsewhere. Washington and British Columbia resorts see only spotty light snow through the weekend, while a southern track brushes Oregon with high snow levels that keep most accumulation limited to upper terrain. During the midweek push, snow levels generally start near 4,000 to 6,000 feet and settle toward 3,000 to 3,500 feet by Thursday, so coverage improves at pass elevations as the storm matures. Snow quality is mostly dense to medium early, then improves late in the window, and exposed terrain on Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor turns windy enough to affect lift experience.
Guidance is strongly converged on timing through Monday: lingering Friday mountain showers fade, Saturday through Monday is mostly dry north of central Oregon, and any weekend precipitation is light and southern-focused. The main spread in this period is how far north that moisture can reach, with a minority of solutions trying to push light precipitation farther into northwest Oregon while most keep Washington resorts dry or near dry. Snow levels during the weekend wave stay high, around 5,500 to 7,000 feet in Oregon, so snowfall is limited despite periodic moisture. For ski quality, this favors packed and spring-like surfaces at lower elevations with only small refresh potential at high terrain. Temperatures run near to a bit above seasonal levels, generally upper 20s to lower 30s at higher mountain elevations overnight and in the morning, then low to mid 30s in the afternoon.
From Tuesday evening through Thursday afternoon, the model suite converges on widespread mountain snow, with expected resort totals in the 1″-11″ range for most mountains and 9″-18″ at Timberline. Timing agreement is best from late Tuesday night through Wednesday night, while intensity spread is moderate, especially for Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor where wetter and drier camps are farther apart. Snow levels trend down through the period, generally from 4,000 to 6,000 feet Tuesday night toward 3,000 to 3,500 feet by Thursday, which helps snow stack more consistently outside the highest terrain. Snow quality starts dense to fair with SLR mostly around 6 to 10, then improves toward moderate quality with SLR around 10 to 14 later Wednesday night into Thursday. Wind guidance also splits by subregion: Washington Cascades are mostly moderate, while Mt. Hood and Mt. Bachelor frequently gust around 35 to 60 mph on exposed lifts.
After Thursday afternoon, confidence drops quickly as guidance diverges on both timing and storm strength, but the broader signal still supports another unsettled stretch with a conservative additional 6″-20″ possible by next Monday. The wetter camp drives a longer Friday through Sunday snowfall run, while the drier camp breaks it into weaker pulses with longer lulls, so day-to-day powder timing is low confidence beyond the midweek event. Snow levels in this extended period are generally lower than the weekend system, often in the 2,000 to 5,000 feet zone, so colder intervals can improve coverage at more elevations. Snow character should average dense to moderate at many Washington and Oregon resorts, with occasional lighter periods when SLR rises into the low teens. Exposed ridgelines remain the key operational risk, especially in Oregon where gusty periods can continue into the weekend.
Resort Forecast Totals (Tue Mar 03 – Thu Mar 05)
- Timberline – 9″-18″
- Mt Baker – 6″-11″
- Mt Bachelor – 5″-10″
- Stevens Pass – 4″-8″
- Whistler – 4″-7″
- Snoqualmie Pass – 1″-3″
- Crystal Mountain – 1″-2″
