In an article I wrote a few years ago about blizzards in western Washington, I listed several ways snow can fall in the area.
All must find a way to provide rain and cold at the same time–that is very difficult thing in our ancient forest.
One way to get snow…usually light snow..is through the Arctic Front (actually a modified Arctic Front, but who’s checking?)
And we’ll have some snow from such an Arctic Front passageway late Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
In the western aisle of Washington’s Arctic Front, cold air from within British Columbia swept southwest through the Fraser River Valley and out north to Bellingham. The cold current splits around the Olympics with a cold air current pushing south over Puget Sound.
The air over the arctic collides with the warmer/wetter air to the south, pushing some of the air upwards creating clouds, rain and yes, snow.
Later tomorrow, Arctic air will push south, as illustrated by Tuesday’s 10 p.m. surface winds shown below.
A band of snow will form at its top edge, as shown in the 3-hour total snowfall forecast ending at 7pm tomorrow.
Total predicted snowfall (NOT SWITCH DEVICE) Thursday morning shows 0.5 to 1 inch north of Seattle, and more to the east. More snow in the mountains A band of snow will also appear upstream from the blocked Olympics.
I don’t want to exaggerate this… it’s not the end of the world. But many of you around Puget Sound will see some peeling. There will be more snow in Southwest Washington, where there will be some rain from a weak low along the northern Oregon Coast.
The mornings of the next few days will be cold…. well below freezing, so be prepared.
And speaking of getting ready, some big waves will hit our shores tomorrow and Wednesday too, with some over 20 ft. Strong northwesterly winds with strong suction are a big cause. Between the waves and the cold, it’s not a particularly good time to cruise.
