956  
FXUS66 KSEW 122234  
AFDSEW  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA  
334 PM PDT SUN APR 12 2026  
   
SYNOPSIS  
 
WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVING THROUGH LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY  
MORNING. PUGET SOUND CONVERGENCE ZONE DEVELOPING TONIGHT AND  
REMAINING INTO MONDAY. STRONG FRONT APPROACHING THE AREA  
TUESDAY MOVING THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. HEAVY SNOW POSSIBLE IN THE  
CASCADES TUESDAY NIGHT. COOL UPPER LEVEL LOW BEHIND THE FRONT  
WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. DRYING NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT  
BEHIND THE LOW THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. SPLITTING SYSTEM ARRIVING  
LATE IN THE WEEKEND.  
 
 
   
SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/  
 
SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES OVER WESTERN  
WASHINGTON. DOPPLER RADAR HAS A FEW SHOWERS IN THE SOUTH  
CASCADES. TEMPERATURES AT 3 PM/22Z IN THE LOWER TO MID 50S.  
 
CLOUDS STARTING TO BUBBLE UP LATE THIS AFTERNOON BUT WITH  
PLENTY OF CLOUD COVER WILL BE HARD TO GENERATE ENOUGH SURFACE  
HEATING TO CREATE MUCH IN THE WAY OF SHOWER ACTIVITY THIS  
EVENING. SURFACE GRADIENTS TURNED ONSHORE THIS AFTERNOON WITH  
ONSHORE FLOW INCREASING TONIGHT. A PUGET SOUND CONVERGENCE ZONE  
WILL DEVELOP MOSTLY LIKELY OVER KING COUNTY TONIGHT WITH THE  
CONVERGENCE ZONE DRIFTING NORTH EARLY MONDAY MORNING. WEAK UPPER  
LEVEL TROUGH ALSO ARRIVING OVERNIGHT INCREASING THE SHOWER  
CHANCES OUTSIDE OF THE CONVERGENCE ZONE. LOWS IN THE 40S.  
 
WEAK UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.  
CONVERGENCE ZONE OVER SNOHOMISH COUNTY WEAKENING AND MOVING INTO  
THE FOOTHILLS. LOW LEVEL ONSHORE KEEPING SKIES AT LEAST MOSTLY  
CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 50S.  
 
UPPER LEVEL LOW AND FRONTAL SYSTEM MOVING OUT OF THE GULF OF  
ALASKA MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING. WARM FRONT BRUSHING  
THE NORTH COAST LATE MONDAY NIGHT. CLOUD COVER WILL KEEP LOWS IN  
THE LOWER TO MID 40S.  
 
STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHING TUESDAY WITH THE FRONT STILL  
OFFSHORE LATE TUESDAY AFTERNOON. RAIN STARTING ON THE COAST IN  
THE MORNING SPREADING INLAND IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDS PICKING UP  
ALONG THE COAST IN THE AFTERNOON. COOL WITH HIGHS NEAR 50.  
 
HAVE ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH BEGINNING LATE TUESDAY  
AFTERNOON FOR THE CASCADES. SNOW LEVEL NEAR 3000 FEET WITH HEAVY  
SNOW POSSIBLE TUESDAY NIGHT AHEAD AND WITH THE FRONT.  
BREEZY/WINDY CONDITIONS DEVELOPING WITH THE FRONT FOR THE  
LOWLANDS. STRONGEST WINDS ALONG THE COAST AND OVER THE  
NORTHWEST INTERIOR. FELTON  
 
 
   
LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/  
COOL UPPER LEVEL LOW  
BEHIND THE FRONT OVER WESTERN WASHINGTON WEDNESDAY MOVING EAST  
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SNOW LEVELS COULD GET AS LOW AS 1500 FEET.  
WINTER STORM WATCH CONTINUING FOR THE CASCADES INTO WEDNESDAY  
NIGHT FOR ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS.  
 
DRYING NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT BEHIND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW  
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. VERY COOL MORNINGS BOTH THURSDAY AND  
FRIDAY WITH THE COLDER LOCATIONS GETTING BELOW FREEZING. FROST  
ADVISORIES WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED ESPECIALLY THURSDAY MORNING.  
 
WEAK UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVING THROUGH SATURDAY AHEAD OF A  
SPLITTING FRONT SUNDAY.  
 
 
   
AVIATION  
 
CEILINGS HAVE BEEN SLOW TO IMPROVE TODAY AS MVFR HAS CONTINUE TO  
LINGER IN THE AFTERNOON. A BRIEF SPELL OF VFR CIGS ARE EXPECTED TO  
REBOUND FOR TERMINALS ALONG THE I-5 CORRIDOR. HOWEVER, MVFR/IFR ARE  
SLATED TO REDEVELOP THIS EVENING AND MAINTAIN TONIGHT AREA-WIDE. FOR  
PUGET SOUND AIRFIELDS, A CONVERGENCE ZONE LOOKS TO DEVELOP AROUND 03-  
06Z AND MAY EVEN BRING LIFR CIGS TO KPAE AS WELL. MVFR TO AREAS OF  
LIFR ARE FORECAST TO LINGER INTO MONDAY AS WELL.  
 
KSEA...MVFR CURRENTLY AT THE TERMINAL AS CIGS HAVE BEEN SLOW TO  
IMPROVE. A BRIEF REPRIEVE TO VFR IS POSSIBLE BETWEEN 22Z-03Z.  
HOWEVER, A MODELS HAVE A PSCZ FORMING OVER THE AIRFIELD WITH THE  
RETURN OF MVFR/IFR CIGS AND POSSIBLE VIS REDUCTIONS. WINDS SW THIS 4  
TO 8 KNOTS THIS EVENING, THEN INCREASING TO 8-12 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO  
20 KT MONDAY MORNING. MVFR/IFR CIGS ARE TO REMAIN INTO MONDAY AS  
WELL.  
 
MCMILLIAN  
 
 
   
MARINE  
 
SURFACE LOW PRESSURE JUST OFF THE N CA COAST AS A HIGH PRESSURE  
SYSTEM DEVELOPS OFFSHORE IN THE NORTHEASTERN PACIFIC. ONSHORE FLOW  
IS INCREASING AS A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR  
WESTERLIES DOWN THE STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA THIS EVENING AND LIKELY  
WELL INTO MONDAY. A STRONGER FRONTAL SYSTEM ARRIVING LATE TUESDAY  
INTO WEDNESDAY WILL LIKELY YIELD MORE WIDESPREAD HEADLINES AS WE  
WILL SEE INCREASED WINDS AND SEAS AND POSSIBLE GALES THROUGH THE  
STRAIT. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE LOOKS TO REBUILD ACROSS THE REGION  
TOWARDS THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK.  
 
COASTAL SEAS 4 TO 6 FEET THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND. SEAS WILL THEN  
START TO BUILD UPWARDS TO 8 TO 10 FEET BY TUESDAY EVENING AND  
REMAINING ELEVATED THROUGH THURSDAY.  
 
MCMILLIAN  
 
 
   
HYDROLOGY  
 
NO RIVER FLOODING THE NEXT 7 DAYS.  
 
 
   
SEW WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES  
 
WA...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE  
WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR CASCADES OF PIERCE AND LEWIS COUNTIES-  
CASCADES OF SNOHOMISH AND NORTHERN KING COUNTIES-CASCADES  
OF SOUTHERN KING COUNTY-CASCADES OF WHATCOM AND SKAGIT  
COUNTIES.  
 
PZ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM PDT MONDAY FOR CENTRAL U.S.  
WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-EAST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS  
STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA.  
 
 
 
 
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