Sentinel Peak (Jefferson County, Washington)
Sentinel Peak is a mountain summit located in the Olympic Mountains, in Jefferson County of Washington state. Rising in the center of Olympic National Park, its nearest higher neighbor is Mount Fromme, to the northwest. Sentinels Sister is a lower companion summit situated to the southwest. The two peaks stand as sentinels above the Dosewalips Valley and Hayden Pass, and were possibly named by an early expedition of the Seattle Mountaineers. Precipitation runoff from the peak drains to Hood Canal via the Dosewallips River. Climate Based on the Köppen climate classification, Sentinel Peak is located in the marine west coast climate zone of western North America. Most weather fronts originate in the Pacific Ocean, and travel northeast toward the Olympic Mountains. As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks of the Olympic Range, causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snowfall (Orographic lift). As a result, the Olympics experience high precipitation, especially during the winter months. During winter months, weather is usually cloudy, but due to high pressure systems over the Pacific Ocean that intensify during summer months, there is often little or no cloud cover during the summer. The months of July