Weather Synopsis for Monday night through Wednesday

The leading edge of a storm is just starting to make its way into the mountains this afternoon. This system will bring us gusty winds and periods of moderate to heavy rain/snow for the next 24 hours. 

Overnight, we'll sit in the warm sector of the storm. Temperatures won't likely cool much from their afternoon highs, and snow levels should hover around 4500-5500 ft. Gusty winds could make it feel quite stormy, even for places that aren't receiving that much precipitation. Look for rain and snow to steadily increase and eventually start to spill over to locations east of the Cascade Crest. The storm crescendos in the wee hours of the morning as a trailing cold front finally slides into the area. This will be marked by the strongest winds and heaviest precipitation rates, with the bullseye aimed at the Central Cascades. 

As the cold front passes in the morning hours, winds should shift slightly WNW and gradually decrease. As temperatures cool, precipitation will turn more showery and once again focus on the west slopes of the mountains. A Puget Sound Convergence Zone could target locally heavier rain and snow near and north of the Highway 2 corridor. By the afternoon, a high pressure ridge starts to nudge its way into the region. You could see sun breaks just about anywhere, but blue sky will be most prevalent east of the Cascades and in locations near the Canadian border. 

The region will dry out quickly Tuesday night and into Wednesday. Lingering low-level moisture and continued onshore flow may create some clouds and fog overnight. During the day, passing bands of high clouds could prevent it from becoming fully "blue-bird." Nevertheless, plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures should make it feel like a nice post-storm spring day.